The King and Queen of New
by Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper
Summary: After a year,the Pevensies get called back to Narnia,but soon find that being Kings and Queens of Old might not be enough to help them win back their kingdom.Instead,the fate of Narnia lies with two teenagers whose linked destinies are in Aslans paws.AUPC
1. Prologue Memories

*Prologue-Memories* 

Hey everybody! This is my first Chronicles of Narnia Fanfic! So, this one goes out to all you crazy awesome people who are giving my story a chance! Please read and review! :D

Unfortunately, I do not own Narnia or any of C.S. Lewis's amazing and loveable characters. BUT, I do own the next best thing-my own characters, their agendas, and plot twists! Mwahaha! xP

Read and review please! Helpful criticism is welcome but please don't be mean about it. Rudeness is completely uncalled for. Thank yoooooooou!! :DD

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She laid, covered in sweat and a scream escaped her throat. Her husband rubbed the hair that clung to her forehead and neck away and gave her hand a squeeze, kissing their entwined fingers lightly. Her hold on his hand became tighter, and her necked arched as she braced herself. The head midwife began instructing her , a sense of urgency in her voice.

"Alright, one more big push and you'll have the first one out. You ready, love? You can do this. Big, deep breath. And…"

She let out a long, agonized shriek and then.. it was over. She collapsed back into her pillows and released the breath. Tiny, weak cries filled the room.

"It's a boy." the midwife announced. "What would you like to name him?"

"Peter Joseph Pevensie." her husband answered, his smile apparent in his voice. She looked up at him and saw his face shining with pride as he looked over the midwife's shoulder at his son.

"Well he's all cleaned off. Would you like to hold him or wait until the other one is born?" the midwife asked. But half way through the question, the new mothers pupils had shrunken into two tiny little black dots and she had paled considerably. As her husband leaned into her and asked her if she was alright, an earsplitting scream filled the room and it began all over again.

After another long, pain filled three and a half hours of labor, she brought a tiny baby girl into the world, little Peter's twin sister.

"Congratulations, it's a little girl." the midwife said. Her husband laughed delightedly and gave her a huge kiss right on her sweat soaked forehead, then moving down to her lips. As they celebrated the birth of their first children, the team of midwives cleaned up the little girl and wrapped her up in a blanket, picking Peter up from his cradle and bringing the two over to the proud parents. As the midwife handed them over to the mother, the head midwife came over with the little girls birth certificate.

"What would you like to name her?" the midwife, whose name was Lucinne, asked.

"Penelope Anne Pevensie." the exhausted mother replied.

After being presented their newborn babes and cooing over them, she fell into a deep and much deserved slumber, her husband soon following suit. Lucinne quietly slipped the twins out of her grasp and took them into the next room, which had been made into a nursery to rest.

About two hours later, the new parents were woken from their slumber by the sound of a midwifes shriek from the next room. As they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and fully woke up, they heard frantic voices and a furry of activity. Lucinne, who along with her team of four midwives was staying the first week with the family to make sure things went well, burst into their room and looked around. The two parents sat up from their sleeping positions, wide awake and fully alert.

"You didn't get Penelope from the other room did you?" she asked urgently.

"No.." she replied uneasily. She didn't at all like the look on Lucinne's face, and sat up further in her bed.

"Why? Is something wrong?" her husband asked, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it tightly. They exchanged frightened glances.

After a long silence, Lucinne looked up from the ground and steadily held their gazes.

"Your daughter is gone."

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Helen Pevensie shot up in her bed, an agonized shriek echoing in her bedroom. "PENELOPE!!"

Her door was thrown open and there stood her eldest son, a panicked expression on his face.

"Mother? Are you alright?" shouted Peter Pevensie, running to her side. Her other son, Edmund, came in a second after his brother, also coming to stand at her bedside.

"What happened?" he demanded. She glanced back and forth between their faces, choosing to keep her gaze on Edmund, seeing as looking at her older son caused her a tremendous ache in her heart for the sister he would never know he had. She shook these thoughts from her head and recovered herself, putting on the best smile she could muster at the moment.

"I'm fine, dearies. Just, had a bad dream.. is all," she said, her voice sounding hoarse and unconvincing. The two exchanged uncertain looks. "Go back to bed, dearies." her voice was firmer this time.

Glancing at his brother again, Edmund shrugged and muttered, "Alright. Goodnight, Mother." and shuffled out of the room. Peter watched him leave and then sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Would you like me to stay in here with you until you fall asleep?" he asked.

"No, Peter. Go back to bed." she said, her voice unintentionally sharp. She knew he meant well, but the last thing she needed was him in there to remind her of his lost sister.

He looked taken aback for a second, then recovered himself and but on a passive expression. "Alright. Goodnight then." he said, and then he left her alone in the dark to fend for herself as her past came back to haunt her.

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Well what do ya think? Please read and review if you like it! :D


	2. Chapter 1 Coming Changes

*Chapter 1-Coming Changes*

Here's chapter one! Heehee! I'd just like to explain so that no one asks-I know that Pattertwig is not supposed to live with Trufflehunter,Trumpkin, and Nikabrik, but for the plot of my story,he does. :P

I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the charecters,except for the ones I made up. And I'm somewhat content to just have them. ;]

Please read and review if you like it! If you don't and have suggestions for me, please review and tell me what I can do to be a better writter! Just don't be mean or rude, cause there's no need for can tell me I need to improve without telling me I'm a no talent lowlife! xD

**This one goes out to my first reviewer and buddy, Highqueen Julietta! You rock! :D**

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"Pattertwig! I was just joking! Come back down!"

The little squirrel poked his head down through the leaves, shooting the speaker a dirty look.. well, as dirty a look a squirrel could give.

"That, my friend, was too far!" he called, vanishing back into the thick greenery. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, come on! You say stuff like that to me all the time and you don't see me running up trees!"

"That's because you climb like a cat with four broken legs," Pattertwig retorted. He poked his head out of the trees again just in time to see her stick her bottom lip out in a pout. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Pattertwig! Do you really think I'd use you as bait to catch a hawk for dinner?" she called up to him. To any other squirrel this wouldn't be taken quite so seriously, but Pattertwig had had a run in with a hawk early on last year that had invoked a terror of the flying beasts. Mini dragons, he called them, same mode of transportation and same tempers. Upon her insisting that he didn't even know what real dragons looked like, and that they very well could look like giant squirrels with wings, he had thrown a nut at her head. Stupid stubborn self-righteous opinionated fuzz ball, she had declared him.

He snorted. "Knowing you, probably."

"Well, fine! You be that way then! I'll just carry on my way to Trufflehunters all by me lonesome then! Hmph!" and with a toss of her head she was off.

"Now you just wait here, young lady, you know as well as I that you don't know the way his place for yourself!" Pattertwig called after her. She ignored him, stomping along huffily and vanishing from the clearing.

"PENELOPE! GET BACK HERE!" he shouted, making his way down the tree and scurrying after her. He finally caught up with her, scrambling up her shoulder and biting the tip of her ear lightly. It was his own special way of showing her affection.

"You are one strange girl, Penelope." he said conversationally. She shot him a look.

"So I've been told," she grumbled.

They carried on the rest of the long walk in silence, both of their senses on high alert. They were watching and listening for any other creatures that might be out during the night, and that might potentially pose as a danger. They both knew it was a very risky thing to be out in the open,and that the chances of being caught by the wrong person were all too high. They also knew the horrifying consequences of being caught by the wrong person.

As they came into the clearing that the served as Trufflehunter's front lawn, Penelope slowly came to a stop, standing in the trees across from the badgers home. She did a quick sweep of the forest before slowly and silently crossing the clearing, moving for her childhood home.

Pattertwig's grip on Penelope's shoulder became tight, and she froze in place and listened hard for what could have alerted him. She heard, much to her horror, fast approaching hoof beats. Not quite sure what to do, for she wasn't sure if it was an enemy or a centaur out for a run, she stayed in place, studying the general direction the sound was coming from.

"Penelope, what're you doing?! Make for Trufflehunter's, run!!" cried Pattertwig, leaping from his perch and making a mad dash across the clearing. Penelope followed after him, willing her legs to go as fast as they possibly could.

As she reached the middle of the clearing, her general bad luck caught up with her, and she found herself falling to the ground after losing her footing on the leaf covered ground.

"Penelope!!" Pattertwig's frantic shout came from somewhere ahead of her, and she looked up with a stunned expression to see her starting back for her. But he froze and let out a squeak that reminded Penelope that even though he could talk, he was still a squirrel. His tail fluffed up, and his black eyes were glued on the edge of the clearing. Penelope leaned up onto her elbows and looked to see a large black horse charging at her. She barely managed to scramble out of the way before it tore its way through the clearing and disappeared through the trees. She heard a low moan from next to her, and her head whipped around. Lying right where she had been a moment ago was a handsome young man who looked about half conscious and had a lump forming on his forehead. He had dark brown curls falling to his shoulders and eyes that were just about the same colour, and had deeply tanned skin. She let out a small cry of fear, for this man was what she had been raised to hide herself from and pray to Aslan she encountered; a Telmarine soldier.

The Telmarine shot up, his hand flying to his sword as he locked eyes with the young Narnian. It was obvious by his expression he had never seen anyone like her, for she had blonde hair, light blue eyes, and fair skin; quite different from the typical dark haired, dark eyed, and dark skinned appearance of all Telmarine women.

Penelope heard a door open from behind her, and both humans turned to see Trumpkin and Nikabrik, two of the many dwarfs who had contributed to raising her, standing in the doorway to Trufflehunter's, horror written across their faces as they took in the scene. Trumpkin drew his sword and charged forward, but froze as he saw the Telmarine leaning towards an intricately carved ivory horn that was lying on the ground next to him. More hoof beats could be heard, and the young shot a petrified look the way he had come.

"Take care of him!" Trumpkin shouted over his shoulder, running off into the trees.

"NO!!" Penelope shrieked as she watched him disappear. She turned to see Nikabrik running towards the Telmarine, who grabbed the horn.

"No!" Nikabrik cried, but it turned out to be a waste of breath as he put the horn to his lips and gave it a tremendous blow, its mighty sound ringing through the trees and up into the sky. Nikabrik pummeled him and he fell on the leaves, unconscious.

Pattertwig was at Penelope's side in a heartbeat. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, scrambling around her trying to find injuries. She stared at the unconscious form of the Telmarine.

"Yes, I'm fine.. but, Pattertwig, what just happened?" she asked, sounding as if she'd just had the breath knocked out of her.

Nikabrik turned to the pair, examining the horn he held in his hand with a look of disgust.

"What just happened, Penelope, was everything you know being changed with the blow of this infernal thing." he said. Pattertwig sighed.

"There are changes coming, Penelope," came Trufflehunter the badgers voice. The three turned to see him standing in the doorway, a triumphant look in his eyes. "You'd best be prepared."

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Haha,I love 's one of my favorite Narnians ever. xD

Welllllllllllllll,what did yall think? Please review!


	3. Chapter 2 Coming Back

*Chapter 2- Coming Back*

**Helloooooo peoples!! Sorry this is late! I wouldve had it up sooner but our computer was like..dead with swine flu type viruses. xP**

**Anyways,I'd like to say thanks to Princess Lucy and halogirl810 for your reviews! They made me happy. :D**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the charecters,but any of the strangers you see running around in Narnia belong to moi. :]**

**Please read and review,and helpful critisism is welcome,but meanness isnt! (wow I sound like a 3 year old xD)**

**Enjoy! This one goes out to Princess Lucy and halogirl810!**

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"Susan! You'd better come quickly!

Susan Pevensie turned away from the latest nerdy boy to hit on her to see her little sister, Lucy, racing towards her. She cast a glance back to the boy before picking up her things and following after her.

Lucy lead Susan through the bustling, rainy streets of London until they reached the underground, and as they approached they were greeted by loud roaring shouts echoing out into the streets. As they ran into the underground, neither of them noticed as they passed a stone lion placed outside the building next door, its expression impassive and stern as it took in the scene.

The girls ran in and found themselves shoving through a large, writhing crowd of their pumped and cheering classmates. Susan let out a disgusted sigh as they came to a break in the crowd and saw what the whole fuss was about.

In the center of the mass of students was the girls' elder brother, Peter, being tag teamed by two of the many boys he'd been having trouble with over the past year. One of the boys picked Peter up and shoved him by his golden blond hair up to the cackling crowd, as if saying 'this could be you if you mess with us.' Peter locked eyes with Susan for a brief moment, in which she gave him an angry and disappointed shake of her head before he was shoved face first into the wall and then repeatedly kicked.

As if the situation couldn't have gotten any worse, Edmund, the second youngest of the four, shoved himself between Susan and Lucy and threw himself into the fray.

"Edmund!!" Lucy wailed as she watched him throw himself upon one of Peter's attackers, tackling him to the ground.

After about another five minutes of watching the wrestling match of Peter and Edmund vs. brutish fellow one and brutish fellow two, a small group of security guards stormed into the tunnel, blowing their whistles and shouting at the school kids. Instantly, the crowd melted away into only Susan and Lucy, who watched as Peter and Edmund were yanked from the ground and reprimanded harshly.

"Act your age!" a guard snapped before Peter jerked away and gave him a nasty look before storming away.

Soon after, the Pevensies found themselves waiting for their train in a thick silence.

"You're welcome." Edmund said darkly to his brother, coming to sit on the bench after retrieving his bags from where he'd dropped them. Peter shot him a nasty look.

"I had it sorted," he snarled, standing up on slightly wobbly legs and pacing.

"What was it this time?" Susan asked, in that tone of a mother fed up with her little child and their antics. Peter turned back to the group, his expression telling them that he was seething and daring them to mess with him.

"He bumped me." he answered simply.

"So you hit him?!" Lucy sounded flabbergasted.

"No, after he bumped me, he tried to make me apologize. _That's_ when I hit him."

"Really, is it that hard to just walk away?" Susan asked, her light blue eyes turning icy with anger. Not only was Peter's fighting causing problems for him and their home life, but lately Susan was starting to get harassed about her older brothers infamous short-fused temper.

"I shouldn't have to!" Peter barked. "I mean, don't you ever get tired of being treated like kids?"

"Um, we are kids," Edmund pointed out.

"Well, I wasn't always." Peter growled. Susan and Edmund exchanged a look, as they both had realized where this was going. "It's been a year," Peter continued, taking his seat again. "How long does he expect us to wait?"

"I think it's time to accept that we live here," Susan said, indicating to the world around them. "It's no use pretending any different." she glanced behind her and had to do a double take, seeing, much to her disdain, the nerdy boy who had pursued her not fifteen minutes ago. "Oh no.." she muttered, her head whipping back around to her siblings, who looked quite lost. "Pretend you're talking to me."

"Uhhuh, we ARE talking to you," Edmund said as if he were talking to a special person. She returned his 'no duhh' look venomously.

"OWW!!" Lucy yelped, jumping up and spinning around.

"Quiet, Lu," Susan hissed lowly, looking around.

"Something pinched me!" the youngest Pevensie shouted, pointing at the bench.

"Hey, stop pulling!" Peter shouted angrily, jumping up and spinning around. A train sped by them, sending papers flying off the huge bulletin boards and knocking blowing Lucy's hat off. Edmund and Susan jumped up also, their shouts drowned out by the roaring of the train.

Soon tiles started flying off the walls, floor, and ceiling, and as the train exited through the tunnel that was also ripped apart.

"What is it?" Peter had to shout to be heard.

"It feels like magic!" Lucy called back, grinning from ear to ear.

"Quick, everyone hold hands." ever the logical one, Susan followed her own advice and grabbed Peter and Lucy's hands.

"I'm not holding your hand!" Edmund snapped at Peter.

"Just-" Peter angrily grabbed his little brother's hand, despite his protests.

The four stood and watched as the station was completely torn away, and with a huge flash of white light was replaced by with a large mouthed cave. The children cautiously stepped out onto a white sanded beach. Swirling aqua blue waves lapped at the entrance of the cave, and as they stepped out onto the beach they saw that the cave was attached to a large rock face that stretched as far as they could see. A large rock formation loomed not too far away from the beach, half covered in some kind of green moss like plant.

They stood and stared in wonder, not quite believing but not wanting to doubt, and then Susan let out a laugh and took off at full speed, stripping her shoes and jacket as she went and diving into the waves. The other three ran after her, equally as enthusiastic, and soon they were all splashing and playing in the crystal blue expanse. They whooped and hollered and cheered victoriously.

Susan flung her arms into the water, creating a great splash aimed at Edmund, but stopped and wadded over to him. "Ed?" she said worriedly, seeing the blank way he was staring up at the rock wall.

"Where do you suppose we are?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the wall.

"Well, where do you think?" Peter said, his elation sounding in his voice. Edmund shot him a look.

"It's just, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia," he said, again looking up at the rocks. Peter and Susan exchanged a look before following his gaze. They indeed saw the ruins of what appeared to have been a once great castle.

"Let's go check it out!" Lucy exclaimed enthusiastically before taking off up the cliff.

The four were soon among the castle ruins, exploring in silence. Peter stood at the top of a desecrated flight of stairs, hands on his hips and expression cloudy. Edmund was brushing his hand across a large stone pillar that had been knocked in two, his brow creased deeply with his thoughts. Susan stood in the middle of it all, looking around with glazed blue eyes. Lucy walked up to what appeared to have been a great balcony and look down at the beach from which they had just come. There was a sense of familiarity with the view, but she brushed it off as a déjà vu. It was she who finally broke the silence.

"I wonder who lived here," she said.

"I think _we_ did.." Susan said, having just stepped on a cold object that glittered brilliantly in the sunlight. Lucy turned and looked at her, confusion written across her face, and started over to her. Peter and Edmund, having heard the conversation, were running over to the older of their sisters, their gazes fixed on her outstretched hand.

"Hey, that's mine! From my chess set!" Edmund exclaimed, taking the object and cradling it in his hands.

"Which chess set?" Peter asked, earning him a look from Edmund.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, now did I?" he said sarcastically. Peter glared at him lightly.

"It can't be.." Lucy said suddenly, sounding dazed. The other three looked at her just in time to see her taking off towards a large, elevated stone platform with four large structures that were unidentifiable they were so broken and worn down. They took off after her.

As they reached the strange platform, Lucy, who had somehow managed to grab hold of Peter's hand, dragged him to the first of the structures and planted him there.

"Don't you see?" she said to him. He looked down at her, utterly confused.

"What?!" he sounded exasperated. She span him to face the large clearing from which they'd come.

"Imagine a glass roof." she moved next to Susan, placing her by the structure next to Peter's. "And columns there." she placed Edmund next to Susan, then took up her place at the structure on the end. "And a glass roof." she added, swinging her arm above her head. She watched each of her siblings, measuring them for their reactions as she waited for them to picture what she had told them to.

"Cair Paravel…" Peter half whispered, his eyes glazed over with memories.

The four siblings stood, stunned into silence by their long locked-away memories of long ago, happier times.

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**Kekekeke,well there ya have it! :D Please review!**


	4. Chapter 3 Meant to Save Us

*Chapter 3-Meant to Save Us*

**Hi everybody! (hi doctor nick! xD) Yayyyyyy it's chapter 3! Not one, not two, but the number that comes next! Huzzah!!! xD**

**I'm so excited about this story, and so far I've gotten really good feedback. :D Just remember, if you want to make me a happy camper, REVIEW! **

**I've decided to start giving out prizes for people who review, so last chapters fabulous prize goes to..PRINCESS LUCY FOR HER REVIEW!!! *applause* Congratulations, and your fabulous prize is.. AN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO OF MR TUMNUS WITH HIS SCARF OFF!! ;P heehee.**

**Anyways, if you want an autographed pic of Mr Tumnus, all you have to do it be nice and review! :D**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia, but any of the strangers and plot twists running around you don't recognize are mine. **

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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"What was going through your head?!"

Penelope shrank back from Nikabrik's angry shout. The Black Dwarf stood, slamming his fist down on the table, making her shrink further into the wall and wish she could turn into a bug and crawl away, unnoticed. Trufflehunter gave a weary sigh as some of the soup he had prepared for the human who wasn't Penelope spilt from his bowl and dabbed it up with his hanky.

"Do you mind?" he hissed. "He's sleeping."

Nikabrik snorted in disgust. "Look at yourself. You're treatin' it like it's a baby.." he grumbled. "Disserves to be killed, ran through with a sword right through it's black heart.."

"Nikabrik, he's just a boy!" Trufflehunter snapped, and Penelope could tell his patience was wearing thin.

"He's a Telmarine! Not some lost puppy! You said you'd get rid of him!" Nikabrik just couldn't let it rest. Penelope let out an exasperated sigh, bringing her hand through her long golden hair, then taking a seat on the floor. He clearly wasn't going to let this drop any time soon, meaning she might as well get comfortable.

"No, I said I'd 'take care' of him." Trufflehunter clarified as if he was talking to a young child. He half turned away from the two, stroking the ivory horn that sat on the table. "Trumpkin knew what he was doing.. it's not the boys fault.."

Just then, the guest of honor sprang forward from the doorway leading to the room Trufflehunter had put him in, lunging for the front door of the house. In a flash, Nikabrik was on his feet, sword in hand, in a defensive position between the boy and the door. The Telmarine was quick to act and grabbed a fire poker from the fireplace. Penelope stood and moved for her own sword, but Trufflehunter placed a paw on her leg, and when she looked down at him his expression was disapproving. Both their heads snapped forward as the heard sword clashing violently with poker.

"Nikabrik!" Trufflehunter shouted angrily, and Penelope glanced down to see the badger trembling in anger.

"I told you we should've killed him while we had the chance!" Nikabrik hissed, lunging at his opponent. The Telmarine's frantic gaze swept the badger.

"You know why we can't do that!" Trufflehunter said sharply back. Nikabrik shot him an angry look over his shoulder, clearly ticked at him for taking the Telmarine's side.

"If we're taking a vote, I'm with him," the Telmarine spoke for the first time, his voice heavily accented. As he spoke he nodded over to Trufflehunter, and momentarily locked eyes with Penelope. He did a double take, causing her to blush violently. She had no experience with other humans, much less men, and was discovering she was quite shy.

"We can't just let him go! He's seen us!" Nikabrik hissed, taking another stab at the Telmarine, who blocked the blow.

"Nikabrik, behave yourself! Or do I have to sit on your head again?" Trufflehunter snapped. Penelope giggled as the dwarf winced at the threat. "And YOU," the badger continued, turning to the Telmarine. "Look what you made me do!" he was stooped down, sopping up the spilt soup with his hanky. "I spent all morning on that soup.." he grumbled, waddling into the kitchen. Penelope looked to see the Telmarine gazing between the three of them with a bewildered expression.

"W-What are you?" he asked.

"You know, it'd funny. I'd think more people would know a badger when they saw one." came Trufflehunter's answer from the kitchen.

"No, I mean.. You're Narnians.. Aren't you supposed to be extinct?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Nikabrik sneered, making his way back over to his seat at the table just as Trufflehunter reappeared and placed a new bowl of soup down, offering it to Caspian.

"There you go," he said gently. "Still hot." The Telmarine looked dazed from the quick turns the conversation had taken; from him being attacked to him being criticized to him being cared for. He was surprised he didn't have whiplash.

"Since when did we open a boarding house for Telmarine soldiers?" Nikabrik asked sharply.

"I am not a soldier," the man said, drawing himself to his full height. "I am Prince Caspian. The tenth."

Nikabrik, Penelope, and Trufflehunter all heard their gasps without realizing they were making them. "What're you doing here?" Nikabrik asked, his tone quite changed from when he had last spoken.

Caspian lowered his gaze. "Running away." he paused, then continued as he walked over the fireplace and put the poker back from where he'd got it. "My uncle has always wanted my throne. I suppose I have only lived this long because he did not have an heir of his own." he said, looking sadly into the fireplace.

"Oh, that changes things.." Penelope, who was yet to have spoken, murmured sympathetically. Caspian looked up at her, his eyes shining with the first stirrings of hope.

"Yeah," Nikabrik cut in. "It means we don't have to kill you ourselves."

"You're right," the prince said. He looked around until he found his things, which were hung on a coat rack by the door, and walked over to them and began to quickly put them on.

"Where are you going?" Trufflehunter sounded anxious.

"My uncle won't stop until I'm dead." Caspian replied.

"But.. you CANT leave! You're meant to save us!" the badger cried. The Princes head snapped around to see the three Narnians looking at him apprehensively. "Don't you know what this is?" continued Trufflehunter, holding up the horn.

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**There's the third chappie! :D Please review! Helpful criticism is welcome! Just don't be rude please!**


	5. Chapter 4 The Kings and Queens of Old

*Chapter 4-The Kings and Queens of Old*

**Hey y'all sorry for poofing! My computer crashed and we had to get my friend from church (who we crescened Computer Man while he was here xD) to fix it.**

**Anywho, I do not own Chronicles of Narnia or any of the Narnian characters. But I do own the strangers running around here. xP**

**I'd like to say thanks to all my lovely reviewers! You all get autographed pics of Mr Tumnus scarfless! xD**

**Please read and review! Constructive criticism is welcome, just be nice about it. As promised, if you review you get an autographed pic of Mr Tumnus scarfless, and a bag of salt and vinegar chips! Hahaha I love those things. xD **

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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The Pevensies, who had found a treasure chamber that had due to its underground location survived whatever attack had been raged on their castle and in it more suitable clothes and weapons, found themselves walking along a beach in silence. The sun was shining brightly and warming their skin in a way that England's sun never could. Lucy, who was practically melting with her excitement, was clutching on to Peter's and Edmund's hands. Susan, who was in the lead seeing as her two brothers were occupied by Lucy, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. The other three slowed down, their eyes measuring her to see the cause of her hesitation. Just as Peter started to ask her, she darted forward, whipping her bow off her back and notching an arrow.

"Susan!" Edmund cried, running off after her, closely followed by Peter and Lucy. They reached the top of a large sand hill that she had just vanished over in time to see her fire her arrow at boat that was idly floating in the water. Much to all their shock, she missed, her arrow landing in the side of the boat. The occupants, who were two soldiers in strange armor holding a gagged and bound dwarf between them, looked up with startled expressions to find the source of the arrow, and their expressions quickly changed to those of fright. Susan stood, looking sinister as she reloaded her bow and stood defensively on the edge of the water.

"Drop him!" she shouted, her voice ringing with regained authority. The dwarf's eyes widened, and he shouted something that was muffled by the gag. The two soldiers exchanged uncertain looks, before shrugging and tossing the dwarf over the side of the boat with a splash. With a growl, Susan fired her arrow, and with a twang it shot into one of the soldiers. He fell backwards into the water, and with a cry his companion dived in after him. In a flash, Peter was diving in after the dwarf. Edmund wadded into the water and retrieved the rowboat, knowing they'd need it.

Peter resurfaced, the writhing dwarf slung over his shoulder. As he reached the shore he dropped it down on the beach in front of his sisters, continuing on to help Edmund with the boat. Immediately, Lucy had her little dagger out and was severing the ropes bonding the dwarf. It started coughing and sputtering, and scrambled to its feet, angrily picking what appeared to be a seaweed from its beard and throwing it to the older queen's feet with a cross expression.

"'Drop him!'" it shouted. "That's the best you can come up with?"

Susan bristled. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice!"

"They were doing a fine job drowning me without your help," the dwarf growled lowly.

"Maybe we should've let them!" Peter, growing angry, jumped in to his sister's defense. The dwarf turned to retaliate, but became rigid as he took in the eldest of the four, a very familiar face popping into his mind.

"Mud and Marsh-wiggles!" he gasped. "The old badger's ramblings were right."

"I beg your pardon?" Peter squirmed under the dwarf's intense gaze.

"What? Oh dear, I was just.. um.. never mind me." the dwarf said, still looking at Peter out of the corner of his eye.

"Why were they trying to drown you, anyways?" Lucy asked. The dwarf returned to his grouchy mood.

"They're Telmarines. It's what they do." it replied gruffly.

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund exclaimed.

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" came the dwarfs sarcastic reply.

"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy said with a sheepish grin. The dwarf looked up to see Susan handing Peter his sword, which he'd discarded her when he ran out into the water. The dwarf's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me.. You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of old?" it said, sounding disgusted.

"High King Peter, the Magnificent," Peter said, stepping forward and offering his hand. The dwarf stared at it and snickered.

"You probably could've left off the last bit." Susan said.

"Probably," the dwarf said, still snickering. Peter's jaw went taught and his eyes flashed angrily.

"You might be surprised." he snipped, pulling out his sword.

"Oh, you don't want to be doing that, boy." the dwarf said.

"Not me. Him." Peter indicated to Edmund, who looked excited as he drew his sword. Peter handed his sword to the dwarf.

The dwarf looked at the legendary sword uneasily, and gave a little gulp before he took it from the High King. The four watched as with a thud it hit the sand, seeing as it was too big for the dwarf. Edmund, who stood at the ready, snickered along with his siblings. The dwarf saw he had fell for his bluff and was distracted, and seized the moment and lunged. It smacked him in the head with the lion on the end of the handle, causing Edmund to fall back a little.

"Oh, you alright?" it asked, before again lunging. It swung the sword at Edmund's feet, but he was one step ahead and jumped right as the sword was to meet with his legs, then advanced.

In mere moments, Peter's sword flew out of the dwarfs hand and landed in the sand. The dwarf fell to its knees and gasped.

"Beards and bedsteads!" he cried. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

"What horn?" Susan asked, stepping forward.

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**Tada! What'd ya'll think? Please review! :D**


	6. Chapter 5 Our Only Hope

*Chapter 5- Our Only Hope*

**2 chapters in one day cause I feel bad! Huzzah! xD**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of C.S. Lewis' characters.**

**Please review! Reviews earn you an autographed pic of Mr Tumnus scarfless! (Ive got a crapload of these bad boys. lol) **

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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It was the next night, the first full day the True Narnians had a Telmarine in their company. Penelope sat outside at the edge of the clearing, right outside Trufflehunter's house. She knew she wasn't allowed to be out in the open by herself, but Trufflehunter's home was feeling very crowded and suffocating. The girl sat, staring at the stars with a thoughtful expression.

Penelope had always been an independent person, and preferred listening and observing rather than engaging when it came to things such as meeting new people. Perhaps that came from the fact that all her life she'd been alone. Her parents were, as far as she had been informed, dead and she had no siblings. So even though she had the badger, two dwarfs, and the squirrel, she felt very much alone as she trudged through life.

Apparently, one day 16 years ago, while Trumpkin and Nikabrik were on their way back from a hunting trip, they stumbled upon a young baby half dead from the cold. The dwarves brought her back to Trufflehunter's house, and after trying to locate her family and coming up unsuccessful, they decided to keep and raise her. That was how Penelope had come to live with the four Narnians, and she loved them each dearly. They weren't the only ones to raise her, however. At one point there had been a doe, and a female elf, but the doe had been shot down by a Telmarine hunter and the elf had been taken to be another's wife against her will and hadn't been heard from since. That had been along time ago, and yet it still brought tears to Penelope's eyes to think of either of the mother figures that had been robbed from her.

Only recently had she moved out of Trufflehunter's house and into one of her own. Well, not exactly-she had to share her new home with Pattertwig the squirrel. But she didn't mind. In fact, she quite liked the squirrel, and would go so far as to say he was the closest person to her. He was spontaneous and funny, but also kept his space. The two got along well, and he treated her more like a friend than his ward.

Suddenly, and this frightened Penelope out of her wits, there was a cry from behind her. She shot up, gasping but keeping herself from screaming, and span to see who the source of the noise was. She saw Caspian, standing fully dressed and armed, his cape over his shoulders. She jumped him, covering his mouth and dragging him behind her as she stormed off into the shelter of the trees.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded, throwing her hand off his mouth and looking cross.

"What are YOU doing, screaming like that? Do you WANT to get caught?!" Penelope shot back, looking just as annoyed. Caspian blinked, looking as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. Then he turned defensive again.

"Well, you frightened me, that is all. So excuse me!" he huffed. Penelope bristled, and then let out a long sigh and the fight visibly left her.

"It's alright." she muttered, her shoulders slumping as she ran a hand through her long blonde hair. The fight left him also, and his defensive position became relaxed. The two stood awkwardly for a moment, and it was then Penelope really took in his outfit, Her hands went to her hips and she became rigid. "And just where do you think you're going?" she demanded. He winced, having hoped to go unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, she was more observant than he'd given her credit for.

"I was just.. erm.." he gulped. Penelope's blue eyes widened as realization hit her. She grabbed his arm and leaned in close.

"Oh, no, you can not go!" she cried. He watched her with guarded eyes.

"I must." he said coldly. "I do not belong here."

"Yes you do! This is exactly where you belong!" she said. "Did you not hear what Trufflehunter said?" Caspian, who had started to walk off, paused and looked back at her over his shoulder.

She stood, shoulders sagging as if from a great weight. Her head was slightly tilted to the side, and a desperate look captured her featured. Her blue eyes were wide and shining, and they stood out against her pale skin. She was, Caspian noted, not that bad looking for a girl who lived in the forest with two dwarves and a couple of animals for companions. In fact, he dared say she was one of the more attractive girls he'd met.

"You're meant to save us." she said so softly the prince had to strain to hear it. She glanced up at him to see him looking intently at the forest floor as this sank in. The silence enveloped them for a good five minutes before he found himself able to speak again.

"Look, I think you have made a mistake. I am not meant to save anyone!" he said, turning to fully face her.

"Yes you are! It's the prophecy!" she snapped, her blood beginning to boil.

"Well, I do not mean to offend, but your prophecy is a lie," he said coolly, turning away and starting to walk.

"No, stop!" she called after him. He didn't pay her any mine, however, and kept walking. She started for his retreating form. "Please! Just give it a chance!"

He ignored her. She sped up, catching up with him and jumping in his path, her hands on her hips.

"If you abandon us, Narnians will have no chance. You are our only hope." she said, putting strong emphasis on the last two words. She then averted her eyes. "We have already had all the abandonment we can handle," she whispered to herself, her eyes going far away to a different time she did not live through but had heard much about. She quickly shook it off and turned back to him. "Please. You have to help us. Please."

He stared into her shining blue eyes, and suddenly had to look away, for he knew she was being earnest. He felt sickened with himself, but know he could not do what she was asking. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look, I apologize, but I just cannot do what you are asking me. I just do not feel ready." he said, opening his eyes to see her draw her breath sharply and pale a little. He instantly felt bad, but ignored her and turned quickly away and sped off into the forest. Penelope felt tears come to her eyes as she stared at his retreating form. Then she turned and ran into Trufflehunter's house at top speed to alert the others that their only hope had left as suddenly as he had gotten there.

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**Hope ya liked it! Please review and let me know what ya thought! :D**

**Reviews make my day. I love to hear what y'all think of my story!**


	7. Chapter 6 A More Savage Place

*Chapter 6-A More Savage Place*

**Hey everybody! I woke up with a will to post this morning, so here's another chappie! :D**

**I WANNA GET THE HAUNTING IN CONNETICUT ON DVD SO BAD**

**Ok, so now that my random moment is out of the way.. REVIEW! It makes me happy and want to post more often! **

**DON'T MAKE ME BREAK THE CANCER THREATS OUT**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the characters!**

**Anywho, this chapter is dedicated to my faithful reader, Princess Lucy! You rock girly!**

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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The Pevensies and the dwarf, who introduced himself as Trumpkin, had begun their journey to find Prince Caspian and the revolting Narnians immediately. They had gone in the boat Edmund had retrieved and were now floating down a wide, crystal blue river in silence. The river was a deep sapphire blue that cast a bluish glow on their faces. The tress and other greenery scaled all around them, high in the sky and overlapping the banks of the river. Lucy looked up longingly at the trees, despair written in her eyes. She sighed.

"They're so still." she said to herself. Trumpkin gave her a look over his shoulder.

"They're trees. What do you expect?" he grumbled.

"They used to dance." she said bluntly.

"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods and the trees retreated so far into themselves they haven't been heard from since." Trumpkin said, earning a terribly saddened looked from the little girl.

"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" she asked. Trumpkin snorted.

"Aslan? I thought he abandoned us when you lot did." he muttered. Peter's defensive side kicked in.

"We didn't mean to leave, you know," he said lowly.

"Makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin said quietly.

"Get us to the Narnians," Peter shot back. "and it will."

Peter didn't know why he was so defensive and argumentative all of the sudden. It started a bit after they left Narnia, but then had really gotten worse throughout the last half of the year. He couldn't help the urges of rage he got, and often he took them out on his siblings. Then, when he really thought about it, he felt a deep, empty feeling inside of him that he couldn't explain. The feelings made him feel as if he was missing something from his life, and that he was desperately alone. It was terribly depressing, and he felt awful thinking about it. Then it made him mad that he couldn't figure out what the cause of the feeling was, so his temper got short. But for some reason, having said that, he had a feeling that whatever was missing from his life was going to be found along with the Narnians.

Not long after, their boat hit the shore. They all clambered out, while the older Pevensies helped Trumpkin drag it onto the shore and tie it down, Lucy wandered off to explore the area. As she began rounding a corner of the trees that expanded from the mass forest, she stopped short, for she realized she wasn't alone. Right before her, its head dipped into the river for a long drink, was a giant grizzly bear. A smile spread across her face and she took another step towards it.

"Hello, there!" she called. Her siblings heads all snapped up to see the bear turn around, then rear up to its hind legs to get a closer look at the little girl. It let out a low rumble, at which Trumpkin looked up, his eyes widening.

"Don't move, Your Majesty!" he shouted. Lucy turned to give him a confused look, and at that sudden movement the bear went back down on all fours and charged at her. Upon hearing the quick, heavy foot steps from behind her, she turned and, letting out a small cry began running for her siblings. Susan, reacting quickly, snatched her bow, strung an arrow, and stood defensively.

"Stay away from her!" she cried, her voice shaking a bit, just as Lucy tripped on her skirt and pitched forward onto the ground. In a heartbeat, the bear was upon her, rearing onto its hind legs and letting out a tremendous roar.

"Shoot, Susan, shoot!!" Edmund shrieked, watching the scene play out in terror. The bear roared again, bringing up a beefy paw as Lucy screeched beneath it. Just as the bear bore down on the youngest Queen, an arrow was fired right into its heart, and it dropped heavily to the ground. Lucy sat up and looked back, prepared to see her sister in tears for killing an animal, but saw instead Susan's bow still strung with an arrow, and Trumpkin step around her with an empty bow. He shot Susan, who was looking very bewildered, a nasty look as he threw his bow into the boat and followed Peter and Edmund as they sprinted over to Lucy. Peter drew his sword and pointed it at the bear threateningly, grabbing Lucy and shoving her behind him.

"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked incredulously, staring at the limp form of the bear.

"I suspect he was hungry." Trumpkin grumbled.

"He was mad," Peter said, his voice slightly hoarse. "I don't think he could talk at all."

"You get treated like a dumb animal long enough and that's what you become." Trumpkin said darkly, drawing a long dagger. "You may find Narnia a more savage place then you remember." he added, and with that dug his dagger into the bears head and began skinning it as Lucy buried her face into Peter's shoulder, sobbing.

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**Hope ya liked it! :D**

**Please review! They make me smile!**


	8. Chapter 7 The Narnians Reason

*Chapter 7-The Narnians' Reason*

**I've decided, on the impatience of my faithful reviewer(I mean that in the best way :P) Princess Lucy to start posting my chapters in pairs to get to the meeting of Penelope and Peter quicker. :] Don't worry, it's coming up! Bear with me!**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the characters C.S. Lewis created. Anything else, however, is mine.**

**Please read and review! Reviews equal a happy Gabby, and a happy Gabby equals more updates!**

"**Well, they had a document, that was reported to be either Michael Jackson's will, or a map to Narnia." I love the Soup. xD**

**Anywho…**

**ENJOY OR DIE**

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The sun was shining brightly the day after Caspian and Penelope's run-in. It shone into the thickly plant covered forest floor, causing the very air to have a green glow. Prince Caspian trudged through the leaves, finding himself angry at his harsh actions and the way he had abandoned Penelope and her fellow Narnians.

He knew she was right. He knew, somehow, deep down, that he was their final and only hope for salvation, and he'd walked out on them. Why, if Dr. Cornelius ever found out, he would surely be too disgusted in him to ever want to see him again.

There was suddenly the light snapping of a twig and low hissing from behind him, and Caspian stopped short, an exasperated look on his face.

"I can hear you," he said, With sighs, Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, and Penelope all clambered out from their hiding spots.

"I just think we should wait for the Kings and Queens before we do anything rash," Trufflehunter said, wringing his paws uncomfortably.

Caspian let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He then turned and began walking again.

"Stubborn jack a-" Penelope began lowly, but a deadly look from Trufflehunter shut her up.

"Fine! Just walk away then! See if the others will be as understanding!" Trufflehunter shouted after him.

"Yeah, or maybe I'll come with you. I'd like to see you try and explain things to the minotaurs!" Nikabrik shouted, running to catch up with the Prince. Caspian stopped short.

"Mintotaurs? They are real?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Oh yes, and they are very big." Nikabrik said.

"Huge," Trufflehunter said. The two exchanged victorious looks.

"What about centaurs? Do they still exist?" Caspian asked, beginning to walk again, but this time at a slower pace. Penelope looked up, hearing the interest in his voice.

"Well, the centaurs will probably fight on your side, but there's no telling what the others will do." Trufflehunter said conversationally. Caspian paused for a minute.

"What about Aslan?" he asked uncertainly. Trufflehunter and Nikabrik exchanged weary glances while Penelope's back went ramrod straight.

"How do you know so much about us?" Nikabrik asked suspiciously.

"Stories." Caspian said. The three Narnians' eyebrows shot up.

"Your father told you stories about Narnia?" Trufflehunter asked.

"No, my tutor.." Caspian replied, and suddenly his face hardened. "Look, I am sorry. These are not the sort of questions you should be asking."

As Caspian was talking, Trufflehunter's nose went in the air and he began sniffing, a worried look on his face. Penelope ran to his side.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Human," the badger replied. Penelope looked confused, as did the other two present.

"Us?" she asked, indicating to her and Caspian.

"No, THEM." Trufflehunter said, looking past her with a frightened look on his face. Penelope looked behind her to see a group of about seven men, all armed with crossbows and swords. She turned back around and with a cry of "Run!" was sprinting off through the forest.

"After them!" one of the men shouted, and she sped up as an arrow whizzed past her head and embedded itself in a tree. Suddenly, she felt a sharp, harsh pain across the back of her leg, and with a cry she collapsed. She looked to see a long gash across the back of her calf, and thankfully it didn't look too deep. It still hurt though, and she hissed in pain and bit her lip and blood trickled from the wound.

Caspian, Nikabrik, and Trufflehunter all turned back as they heard her cry and say her laying on the ground clutching her leg. She let out another cry.

"Oh no, Penelope!" Trufflehunter cried. He started back for her, but Caspian put an arm out in front of him.

"No! I will go!" he said, running back for her. As he reached her, she looked up at him with a terrified look on her face.

"Here, I have got you." he said softly as he lifted her into his arms. He began running with her clinging to his chest back to Nikabrik and Trufflehunter. "Take her out of here. Now." he said, laying her on the ground between them and turning back, sword drawn.

Suddenly, the Telmarines began dropping like flies. They all very quickly fell over as if stabbed, their weapons flying out of their hands. They fell until there was only one left, and this last remaining Telmarine pulled out his sword and started slashing at the ground. Then, he too fell to the ground. Caspian looked around, trying to figure out what was killing the men and noticed the shrubbery start moving. He watched as whatever it was drew closer to him and then, with a fierce cry jumped the Prince. As Caspian dropped over with a grunt, he saw sitting on his chest a two foot tall mouse with a feather around his ear. The mouse drew its sword and held it to his neck.

"Choose your last words carefully, Telmarine!" the mouse said.

"You are a mouse," Caspian said dumbly. The mouse sighed.

"I was hoping for something a little more original. Pick up your sword." he said. Caspian looked at the finely crafted Telmarine sword he had gotten when he was ten years old, and back to the mouse.

"Which is why I might live longer if I chose not to cross blades with you, noble mouse." he said. The mouse angrily shoved his tiny rapier closer to his face.

"I said I would not fight you, I did not say I'd let you live!" the mouse cheeped.

"Reepicheep! Stay your blade!" Trufflehunter called from where he was tying up Penelope's leg.

"Trufflehunter? I hope you have good reason for this untimely interuption!" said the mouse angrily.

"He doesn't. Go ahead." Nikabrik said. Both Penelope and the badger shot him dirty looks.

"You hush," Penelope snapped to him.

"He's the one who blew the horn." Trufflehunter said, answering the Reepicheep's question.

"Then let him bring it forward." said a new voice. They all looked to see a group of centaurs coming forward from the trees, headed by the largest centaur to be seen by a human; Glenstorm. "This is the reason we have gathered."

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**Hope y'all enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think about my story so far! Reviews make me mucho happio! :D**


	9. Chapter 8 Meetings of Different Sorts

*Chapter 8-2 Meetings of Different Sorts*

**Good day! Here's yet another chapter in my story! Yaaaaay!!**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the characters, except the ones that popped into my mind and demanded I wrote a story for them!**

**Please review! My lovely reviewers have gone missing! I want you guys back! (that was creepy.. xD) It makes me sad I have only one person keeping up with my story! D:**

**Well here it is! ENJOY**

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"I don't remember this way." Susan said. She was walking down a sloping ledge covered in moss. She and her siblings, along with Trumpkin the dwarf, were making their way through the forest in search of the River Rush, where they would cross over and continue on their way on their quest to find Caspian. She passed a large rock face just in time to see her brother enter jump off on a large hill and turn back to her.

"That's the problem with girls, you can't carry a map in your heads." he said, giving Edmund a smirk before turning back to where he was walking.

"That's cause our heads have something in them!" Lucy retorted, earning a snicker from Susan and a grin from Edmund. Trumpkin had no reaction, for he was doing his best to ignore the four bickering children.

Peter walked until he entered an area completely surrounded by large boulders, out of earshot.

"I wish he'd just listened to the DLF in the first place," Susan muttered lowly to Lucy, who raised her eyebrows in silent agreement.

"DLF?" Edmund, who was right behind them, asked having overheard. Lucy and Susan exchanged Susan exchanged smirks.

"Dear Little Friend," Lucy said, and the two walked off, giggling. Trumpkin stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, that's not at all patronizing, is it?" he growled darkly. Edmund chuckled and walked past him, shaking his head.

They entered the strange boulder clearing to see Peter standing on a large boulder in the middle of it, looking around in frustration.

"I'm not lost," he half whispered under his breath.

"No." Trumpkin said, walking past the other three to stand opposite the High King. "You're just going the wrong way."

Peter turned around and gave the dwarf a poisonous look. "You last saw Caspian at the shuddering woods, and the quickest way there is to cross the River Rush."

"But unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing at this point," Trumpkin, who was very obviously losing his temper.

"That explains it then. You're mistaken." Peter said, turning and walking on. Trumpkin ground his teeth together.

"Oh, you're exactly like her," he hissed lowly. Peter's head snapped around.

"Excuse me?" he snapped. Trumpkin's face paled.

"Nothing." he muttered. Peter glared at him for a moment longer, and then turned and stormed off, annoyed and confused by the dwarf's ramblings.

The four followed Peter as he went into the woods and made his way through the trees at an angrily determined pace.

He came over a small hill and found himself standing on the edge of a very steep, long drop. Hesitantly, and as carefully as he could, he got as close possible without falling to the edge and looked down. There, hundreds of feet, below him, he saw the river, nothing more than a thin blue line against the brown of the mud and grays of the stones. Susan, who was next to him on the steep cliff, let out a sigh.

"You see, over time water erodes the earth's soil, carving deeper into the-"

"Oh, shut up." Edmund cut her off. "Is there a way down?"

"Yeah, falling." came Trumpkin's dry reply. "There's a ford near Beruna. How do you feel about swimming?"

"I'd rather that than walking." Susan said, and they all turned to leave. All except Lucy.

"Aslan? It's Aslan! Look, look, it's Aslan over there!" she cried, turning to the others and pointing at a spot on the bank. But when she turned back around, where the Great Lion had been only a moment ago, thee was nothing. Her smile faded.

"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin asked. Lucy turned around and met his skeptical expression with a scowl.

"I'm not crazy. He was there, he wanted us to follow him." she said, directing the last part more to her brother. Peter shot an uncertain look to the bank.

"I'm sure there are any number of lions in these woods. Just like that bear," he said finally.

"I think I know Aslan when I see him," said Lucy through her teeth.

"Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist." Trumpkin put in flatly.

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy," said Edmund thoughtfully. "I ended up looking pretty stupid." Lucy gave him a small smile of appreciation.

When Peter spoke next, his voice was softer. "Why wouldn't I have seen him?"

"Maybe you weren't looking," answered Lucy with equal softness.

Peter stared at the bank for a moment longer, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry Lu."

He, Susan, and Trumpkin all turned away and began back through the woods, Trumpkin in the lead. Lucy watched them go, her bottom lip beginning to tremble, and turned back to the bank with despair written in her eyes. Then she turned back and saw Edmund still standing there waiting for her. He offered her a small, sad smile, which she barely returned. He held his arm out, indicating they should follow the others, but not before Lucy looked back once more to where Aslan had been. Then she turned to Edmund, and together the two sullenly followed the others.

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It was the night after Lucy had seen Aslan on the bank, and in a very different part of Narnia, there was a large gathering of Narnians. Their voices rose together in anger, filling the night air with roars and grunts and shouts that were all directed at the same person.

"Kill him!"

"Telmarine!"

"Murderer!"

Caspian stood in the center of a clearing and found himself surrounded by hundreds of less than friendly Narnians. He looked around at their faces, swallowing a lump in his throat, and his eyes met those of Penelope. She looked saddened and very disappointed, and was shaking her head back and forth. Her eyes swept the gathered Narnians and flashed in anger.

Caspian's attention was diverted from the girl to Nikabrik, who was stepping out of the crowd and making his way down to the center of the clearing.

"All this horn proves is that they've stolen yet another thing from us!" cried the dwarf angrily. He was fed up with playing good host with the badger, and was becoming one of the chief instigators of the gathering.

"I didn't steal anything!" said Caspian.

"Didn't steal anything? Shall we list the things the Telmarines have taken?" a minotaur's deep voice boomed.

"Our homes!"

"Our land!"

"Our freedom!"

"Our _lives_!"

"You stole Narnia!"

As the others cried out their losses, Penelope jumped to her feet and her voice rose above all the others.

"You pin your losses on this boy as if he personally led the attack!" A few Narnians stopped shouting and stared at her as she said it with new light in their eyes, but almost all the others ignored her and continued hurling accusations. Caspian shot her a grateful look, which she didn't catch for she was too busy glaring at everyone, and turned to the Narnians and spoke himself.

"You would hold me accountable for the crimes of my people?" he asked.

"Accountable, and punishable." said Nikabrik, coming up right next to him and drawing his sword. From behind him, Caspian heard another sword be drawn.

"Ha! That is rich coming from you dwarf!" came Reepicheep's small voice. "Or have you forgotten it was your people who fought alongside the White Witch?"

"And I'd gladly do it again, if it would rid us of these barbarians!" snapped Nikabrik with a disgusted look at Caspian. He flicked the mouse's tiny rapier away like it was a bug on his nose.

"Then it's lucky it's not in your power to bring her back. Or are you suggesting we ask the boy to go against Aslan?" asked Trufflehunter, earning the loudest roars of fury yet. Even Penelope expressed her disapproval. "Some of you may have forgotten, but we badgers remember well that Narnia was never right unless a Son of Adam was King."

"He's a Telmarine! Why would we want him as our king?" demanded Nikabrik.

"Because I can help you!" Caspian said.

"It's a trick!" some creature shouted out.

"At least hear him out!" called another.

"Let him talk!" Penelope hollered, cupping her hands around her mouth to better be heard.

"Beyond these woods, I am a Prince. The Telmarine throne is rightfully mine. Help me claim it and I can bring peace between us." Caspian said, looking around meaningfully at the Narnians.

"It is true." came the deep, rich voice of Glenstorm the centaur. All eyes turned to him. "The time is ripe. I watch the sky for it is mine to watch, as it is yours to remember, Badger. Tarva, the lord of victory, and Alamvil, the lady of peace have come together in the high heavens, and here a Son of Adam has come forth to offer us back our freedom."

"Is this possible? I mean, do you really think there can be peace? Really? I mean, do you really?" Pattertwig chirped from his place on Penelope's shoulder, clambering onto her head and beginning to nibble her hair in his excitement.

"Two days ago, I didn't believe in the existence of talking animals.. or dwarfs.. or centaurs. But here you are in strength and numbers we Telmarines could never have imagined. Whether this horn is magic or not, it brought us together, and together we shall take back what is rightfully ours!" Caspian finished passionately. The mood was quite different in the clearing now.

A sword was drawn. "You lead, and I will follow you, my King." said Penelope softly, stepping forward and holding her sword up. She was looking at Caspian admirably.

Another sword was drawn. "If you lead us, then my sons and I offer you our swords." said Glenstorm, his huge sword in the air. Every centaur followed suit, and then the other creatures did too until there wasn't a sword in the clearing sheathed.

"And we offer you our lives. Unreservedly." said Reepicheep with a bow of his head.

"Miraz's army will not be far behind us, sir." Trufflehunter said quietly.

"If we are to be ready for them, we need to hurry to find soldiers and weapons. I'm sure they will be here soon." Caspian said, looking at Glenstorm deeply.

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**Tada! Please review and tell me what ya thought! :D**


	10. Chapter 9 First Meeting

*Chapter 9-First Meeting*

**Here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for! The twins finally meet each other in this chapter! :D**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.**

**Please review!**

**NOW ENJOY**

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"So, where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked Lucy, who stood on the cliff where they had been earlier that day.

"I wish you all would stop trying to sound like grown-ups." she snapped, giving each of them nasty looks. "I don't _think _I saw him, I _did_ see him."

Trumpkin looked embarrassed. "I _am_ a grown up," he said, causing Edmund to snicker.

"It was right over.." she trailed off with a shriek as the ground collapsed beneath her and she disappeared.

"LUCY!!" Susan cried. They all ran forward, and to their great relief found her sitting on a ledge a few feet down.

"Here," she finished. She was sitting next to a path that led down to and across the river.

The group followed the path and crossed the river, all looking around in hopes of seeing Aslan. Lucy stepped on a loose stone and lost her balance, but Trumpkin, who was right behind her, caught her before she fell. She shot him a grateful look over her shoulder. They got across the river and entered into a clearing, where they decided to make camp.

Later that night, Lucy laid looking up at the stars. The rest of the group laid around the campfire, sleeping. Lucy let out a sigh.

"Lucy? Are you awake?" she heard. She turned to see Susan, who she'd thought was asleep, looking at her anxiously.

"Yes," Lucy replied.

"Why do you think I didn't see Aslan?" Susan asked. Lucy rolled onto her side so she was facing her.

"You believe me?" she asked.

"Well, we got across the gorge." Susan replied. Lucy's expression turned thoughtful.

"Maybe you didn't really want to," she answered after a moment.

"You always knew we'd be coming back someday, didn't you?" Susan asked.

"I hoped," Lucy said. Susan sighed and rolled onto her back.

"I'd finally just got used to the idea of being in England…" she muttered. Lucy shot up.

"But you're happy to be here, aren't you?" she asked. Susan paused.

"While it lasts," she answered finally, and with that she rolled onto her side, curling up into a ball, and in a few moments she was asleep.

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Lucy awoke to a bright new day and found she was the first in the group to wake up. Feeling the urge to explore, she got up and headed off through the trees, taking note of her surroundings so she'd be able to find her way back.

She walked and walked, feeling a sense of magic in the air. Her senses were alive as she came to a path with trees on both sides overlapping it. She heard giggling, and looked around to find a dryad right next to her. The dryad, still giggling, waved her hand at the trees, and they instantly came to life, bending back until they were standing straight. The dryad held her hand out for Lucy to proceed, and she began to walk through the path.

As she reached the end of the path, she found herself in a small, grassless clearing. She stepped into it and began looking around when she heard purring. Her head snapped to the direction it came from, and she saw a huge, magnificent golden lion.

"Aslan!" she cried, running over to him and tackling him. He chuckled warmly as she hugged him. "Oh, Aslan, how I've missed you!" she said, stepping back to look at him. "You've grown!"

"Every year you grow, so shall I." he said proudly.

"Aslan, why couldn't the others see you too?" Lucy asked.

"Things never happen the same way twice, dear one." he replied. Suddenly a twig snapped from behind her..

Lucy's eyes snapped open. She sat up and turned to her sister.

"Susan, wake up!" she hissed.

"Certainly, Lu, whatever you like." Susan said drowsily, rolling over and going back to sleep. Lucy huffed, then got up and went in the same direction she had in her dream. Only this time, there was no dryad, or sense of magic.

She walked up to a tree with a sad expression and laid a hand on it. "Wake up," she whispered. She stayed like that for a moment longer, then continued walking.

As she rounded a boulder, she heard a low growl. Her heart leaped.

"Aslan?" she called, then suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and put a hand over her mouth. She frantically struggled and squealed until the person let go. Peter stepped out from behind her and put a finger to his lips, indicating her to be quiet. He drew his sword and stepped out from their hiding place. Lucy peeked over the boulder to see him advancing on a fully armed minotaur.

A young man jumped out of the bushes, and with a cry his sword met Peter's. He advanced on Peter, who moved back and had him against a tree. Peter swung his sword at the man's feet, but he jumped, and then punched him in the face, giving him a bloody lip. He then brought his sword up and disarmed the man, bringing it back up again and swinging at his neck. He ducked, and Peter's sword lodged in the tree. The man kicked Peter in the stomach, knocking him over, and while he was down reached for his sword to get it from the tree. Peter jumped up with a large rock in his hand and drew his arm back, about to bash the man's head, when Lucy jumped up screeching "No, stop!!" The two looked at her and found her looking past them. The followed her gaze to see hundreds of Narnians emerging from the woods. Peter's jaw dropped, and he turned back to the man.

"Prince Caspian?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. And who are you?" Caspian hissed.

"Peter!" Susan shouted, jumping out from the boulder with Edmund and Trumpkin right behind her. Caspian looked down at the sword he was holding. He looked up at Peter, who was looking a little cocky.

"High King Peter," Caspian said in wonder. Peter held his head a little higher.

"I believe you called." he said.

"Well, yes but, I was expecting someone older." Caspian said. A dark look crossed Peter's face.

"We could leave and come back in a few years, if you like." Peter snapped.

"No, no, it's just, you're not exactly what I was expecting." Caspian said quickly, looking at the other three. His eyes lingered on Susan.

"Neither are you," Edmund said, eyeing the minotaur.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes." Trufflehunter said, stepping forward. Edmund looked at the badger, and caught sight of Penelope, who was standing behind him. Edmund's face paled.

"Pete.." he said, his voice hoarse. Peter worriedly looked at him, and he followed his pointed finger and his jaw dropped as he took in the blonde haired, blue eyed Narnian. Everyone else also looked at her, and a gasp broke through the crowd.

"This girl looks exactly like the High King!" a creature cried.

"The prophecy!" another hollered. Penelope, who had never seen herself in a mirror, had no idea what everyone was fussing about and felt uneasy to be the center of attention.

"Who is she?" Peter asked of Caspian, his eyes never leaving Penelope.

"The girl? That's Penelope." Caspian replied, looking at her with a certain sparkle in his eye. She caught his gaze and looked away, blushing.

"Penelope," Peter said her name quietly to himself, not realizing why it rung a bell. Then it clicked; that was the name his mother had cried out in her sleep! "Penelope, come here,"

A hush fell over the crowd as she was stepped forward, closely followed by Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, and Pattertwig. She came to stand in front of the two royals, looking very small and fidgety. She stared at Peter with a frightened look on her face as she gave a small, clumsy curtsy. Peter looked back at his siblings, a beyond shocked expression on his face.

"Sire?" Penelope said quietly, getting Peter's attention. "What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me?"

"Why, don't you know your own face when you see it on someone else?" he said, indicating to his face. She shook her head.

"No, Your Majesty. I-I don't know what I look like," she replied. Trufflehunter stepped forward and cleared his throat. All eyes went to him.

With a deep bow to Peter, the badger turned to Penelope and said, "Penelope, it is time you found out who you are," and held up a small pink wristband.

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**AND THERE IT IS EVERYONE!!! I hope I didn't disappoint! :D**

**REVIEW,REVIEW,REVIEW!!! They make me happy!!**

**Hope y'all liked this chapter as much as I did writing it!**


	11. Chapter 10 Who She Is

*Chapter 10-Who She Is/To the How*

**Hey everybody! Here's yet another chapter in my story! :D**

**I got a lot of reviews for my last 2 chapters and they made me SUPER happy! I'd like to thank everyone reviewed my story! I love you all! You make me feel like my story's not crap and is actually worth reading!**

**Please review! They make me smile and want to post sooner! :D**

**THIS CHAPPIE GOES TO ALL THE AWESOME PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED ON MY LAST 2 CHAPPIES! I LUBB YOU ALL!!**

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Penelope stared at the tiny pink wristband with a mystified expression. "What is that?" she asked, at the same time Susan turned to Edmund and whispered, "Why does the badger have a baby's hospital band?" Penelope went forward and grabbed the wristband, looking at the words in confusion.

"What does it say?" she asked. Peter took it from her and studied it for a few moments, his blue eyes widening.

"It says 'Penelope Pevensie, Girl,' and the rest is faded away." he said, looking at his siblings in shock.

"So does that mean.. there's a 5th Pevensie we never knew about?" Edmund asked, looking bewildered.

"Yes, don't you remember the other night when Mother was screaming in her sleep? She screamed 'Penelope.' It sort of makes sense." Peter answered, shrugging slightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Penelope looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

"You mean.. I have a mother? And she _remembers_ me?" she asked softly. He felt a pang go through his heart at the question, feeling guilty at the fact he got to live with his mother and his twin did not, but smiled past it and nodded.

"I guess so," Susan answered, taking Penelope in skeptically. Lucy, a huge grin splitting her face, ran forward and threw her arms around Penelope.

"Oh, welcome to the family, new sister!" she shouted. "We are going to have so much fun together!"

"Lucy," Susan said warningly, clenching her fists slightly. She wasn't too happy about having a new sister, especially one who had the potential to be closer to Peter, her favorite of her siblings, than she was.

Penelope, with Lucy now squeezing the feeling out of her hand, turned to Trufflehunter with a slightly stricken expression on her face. "Why did you not tell me sooner?" she asked brokenly.

"I couldn't until the time was right for you to know." he replied as calmly as he could, wringing his paws guiltily, but Penelope didn't seem to have heard.

"Who am I?" she whispered. Trufflehunter drew in a deep, shuddering breath while Lucy gave Penelope's hand a comforting squeeze.

"You, my dear girl, are Penelope Pevensie, lost child of Helen Pevensie, twin sister of Peter Pevensie, second oldest of the Pevensie children, and bound for the Narnian throne." he said. A gasp rippled through the crowd and whispers started flourishing.

"There she is! She's the one!" came the loudest whisper.

"What are you talking about?" Penelope asked, looking around at the Narnians.

"It has long been whispered among the Narnians, 'Out of the ashes, when the time is right, a heroine will emerge and be our dark oppressors' foe, the light. Leading the oppressed with her new allies, she will sit on the throne of her brother before her, as our Queen the High.'" Trufflehunter said. There were shouts of approval among the crowd of Narnians as Penelope took a moment to process this, her eyes widening.

"And you think I'm the one?" she asked, pointing at herself in disbelief.

"Oh, I know you're the one." he said gently. "You see, 16 years ago I was a much younger badger and less faithful to Aslan. In our forest, we were oblivious to such things as the past and the Telmarine threat. Well, for me, that all changed in one night.

"Trumpkin and I were walking back to my house, returning from a hunt for food. It was an exceptionally cold night, and we were being hasty to get home. Suddenly, we heard a strange noise; it sounded like crying. Wondering what on earth a baby was doing out in the forest on such a cold night, we started looking around, and found a small, writhing bundle of blankets under a tree. Trumpkin grabbed it, and we unwrapped the blankets to find a small, squealing infant. But this was no ordinary infant- it was a human! At first we wondered what a human was doing in the middle of Narnia and what were we supposed to do with it, when we noticed the infant's cries had become more strangled and weak. We looked down to see its face blue with the cold, and also noticed a pink band around its tiny arm. We slid the wristband off, rewrapped the babe, and fled at full speed for my house.

"We got there and got the now half-dead babe situated and warm by the fire. We pulled the band out, and it identified the child as Penelope Pevensie." at this, he held up the tiny pink bracelet and nodded to Penelope. "Not sure what to do with her, but knowing we could not abandon her, we and our other roommates, Nikabrik and Pattertwig, all agreed we would keep and raise her.

"About a week after finding the child, Trumpkin and I were again out hunting for food. We were on our way out, when suddenly a strong wind picked up and blew Trumpkin's hat off and far away. We ran after it, and it led us to a large tree well off the path. As we reached the tree, we stopped short; for standing beneath the tree, with the hat in his mouth, was a giant, magnificent lion. We each instantly realized the lion was the legendary Alsan, and dropped into bows. 'Rise, noble creatures.' He said in the richest, warmest voice I've ever heard. 'You have a great task ahead of you. The young babe you found is the answer to Narnia's prayers, and it was by no accident you found her. She is the flesh and blood of our long vanished Kings and Queens of Old, and I have brought her to you from their world. Raise her into a fine young lady, give her the knowledge of the past of all things she will need to know to become the great queen I know she will be. Your futures, along with the futures of all Narnians, rests in her hands.' He said. 'Yes, Alsan.' was all we were able to say back, for even though we knew our situation was questionable, we were comforted and honored by the knowledge we were the chosen ones." the badger said. Trumpkin stepped up next to him.

"We knew there was a reason Aslan had picked us to be your caregivers." he said. Penelope, whose mouth was hanging open, turned to Peter with a mystified expression.

"You mean to tell me I'm the queen of High King Peter the Magnificent?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes, I do. Don't you see? You're meant to liberate the Narnians! You, Penelope Pevensie, are meant to save and rule us." said Trufflehunter. Penelope, while feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders upon finding out she had a family and finally realizing who she was, was deeply troubled by the news.

"Me? she gasped, wavering in place slightly. "I'm not-I can't-_No_! I can't save anyone!"

"And why ever not?" Trufflehunter asked.

"Look at me! Do I look like I'm meant to save anyone?!" she shouted, her voice wavering on hysterical.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you do." said the badger coolly. "Do you want to know why?" She stared skeptically, waiting for an answer. "Because you share the face of our High King of Old," he said, drawing more approving shouts from the gathered Narnians. Penelope looked at Peter, who was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face her fully and offered her a warm smile.

"You know, I was exactly the same way when I found out the White Witch had killed Aslan on the Stone Table and was told I would have to lead His army." he said. Penelope's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked. Peter nodded.

"Yes. But you know what? I realized that I had to do it, if not for the Narnians, then for Aslan, because He believed in me."

Here Edmund threw in, "I believed in you, too, you know. Some props would be nice every once in a while."

Peter continued as if Edmund had not spoken. "And I owed it to Him for putting that trust in me," he finished. Penelope looked thoughtful for a moment before a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"You're right. I owe it to Aslan for believing in me." she said, her voice stronger than it had ever been. A determined expression captured her features.

Peter stood next to her, feeling proud of himself for being the one to fill her with hope. He also couldn't help but notice the cold, empty feeling inside of him had been filled as soon as he'd laid eyes on his twin. So _she_ was the missing part of him!

Trufflehunter was looking at Penelope, a renewed hope and pride shining in his eyes. The crowd was chanting, quietly at first, but it soon swelled into a tremendous roar that thundered into the sky and could be heard even from the gates of Miraz's castle.

"The High Queen has come! Salvation is nigh!"

Penelope's gaze swept the hundreds of Narnians gathered, the lives she was meant to save and protect. They were watching her with worshipful eyes, their chant shaking the ground. Their fates were in her hands, she realized with a jolt of uncertainty in her stomach. The feeling gripped her for a moment, but then as her eyes met those of Caspian, Peter, and the others, she drew strength from the knowledge they would be there to help her. She turned to Caspian with an ironic grin on her face.

"Looks like you're not the only one with a crazy prophecy," she said, and he laughed, realizing the joke and the irony of the situation. Then a though hit him.

"I cannot help but wonder.. Do you think our prophecies are connected?" he asked, lowering his voice so the conversation became just between the two of them. She sobered in an instant and held his gaze evenly.

"I.. I'm not sure. It's possible. I mean, I hope so," she said. He smiled softly.

"I do also," he said, and she had a flickering thought they weren't talking about the same thing anymore. Warmth filled her cheeks, and butterflies tickled her stomach. _Why am I getting this way around him all of the sudden?_ she asked herself._ Could I.. Could I have feelings for Caspian?_

She shook the thoughts off and put on her best smile. Unfortunately for her, she shared her twin's incredibly readable expressions, and so her siblings instantly knew something was up. Lucy, sensing a connection between the two along with her sister's embarrassment, made a mental note to talk to her about the young, handsome prince at another time.

Penelope met Caspian's admiring gaze with flushed cheeks and a smile forced through her embarrassment.

"To the How?" she asked. He gave her a nod, then together, accompanied by the Kings and Queens of Old, they took the lead to the Narnian's established camp; Aslan's How.

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**And there ya have it! Review and tell me what you think!**

**I loved writing the little bits of Caspian/Penelope fluff, haha. Is there something serious between them, or is it just a cutesy little teenage crush? You'll just have to keep up with the story to find out! ;P**

**Sorry if her prophecy is a little corny and crappy, it's the first prophecy I've ever really written. Haha. So, now you know I'm not just randomly making Peter have a twin and doing nothing with her. lolz. Yes, this story is actually going somewhere! :]**

**REVIEW!! THEY MAKE ME SMILE AND FEEL SPECIAL AND LOVED! :D**


	12. Chapter 11 The King and Queen of New

***Chapter 11-The King and Queen of New***

**Heyyyyyy everyone! Once again, another chapter in my story! In this chapter, you find out where my story gets its title! Huzzah!**

**Sadly, I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the characters.**

**HOWEVER, I have amazing news! I talked to my dad about it, and he said he's gonna look in to letting me try out for the roll of Jill Poll in The Silver Chair!!!!!!!!!! I started CRYING I was so happy! :DDDDDDD**

**So yeah, that's my big news. ISN'T IT AWESOME?! Ok I'm done. xD**

**Thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter!**

**NOW ENJOY**

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The Narnians reached the How just as the sun was beginning to set. Penelope, Caspian, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy came to the end of the forest and found themselves standing on a great sloping hill overlooking what had to be Aslan's How. The four Pevensies, who had not yet seen the How, found themselves gasping in wonder.

The How was a massive stone tomb built into a hill that went far underground. The front of the How was mainly a large entranceway with a huge ledge over it that you could reach from a pathway inside the How. Infront of the How was a strange construction of fallen stone towers. Only two columns that lead to the path into the How were still standing.

The army progressed onward to the How, and not long after they were at the entrance. They were greeted by the rest of the army that had stayed behind from the raid for weapons and supplies from Miraz's traveling army. A precision of centaurs stood on the walls of the pathway into the How. As the army, headed by the royals, reached them, the centaurs each drew their giant swords and held them at the ready. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who had somehow taken the lead, all started walking first into the How, their heads held high and their expressions regal. The centaurs held their swords out overhead as they began walking. As they started down the path, Caspian froze and let out a saddened sigh. Penelope looked up to see him watching the four with a wistful expression.

"Caspian?" she asked. He didn't look at her, his eyes staying trained on the four, and only let out an 'mmm?' as his reply.

"What's wrong?" she asked, earning another sigh from him.

"Nothing is wrong, it is just.. look at how the people love them.. and they are such great rulers.. I am never going to be like them.."

"No, you won't," Penelope said. He turned to her with a despairing look, and she continued calmly. "That's because you're not them. There's four of them, and only one of you, and they lived in a completely different Narnia then the one you're trying to heal."

For about the twentieth time that conversation, Caspian sighed. "I knew I was not good enough. I never will be either. I will never live up to them."

"I never said that," Penelope said rather sharply, drawing his attention. "You are too good enough. In fact, you're better than good enough. I can see it in you that all you want to do is help these people. You also want desperately to prove yourself to them. And so far, you're doing very well at both," she paused to take both his hands in her own. "Really. They believe in you, Caspian. And so do I,"

Caspian looked down at her with shining eyes, pleasantly aware of their entwined hands. His heart felt swollen with the strength she had given him, and was racing with the intensity with which she spoke. She gave his hands a squeeze and offered him a warm smile, which he could not help but return. Then he looked back at the fours' retreating forms, and it faded.

"Well, it is just… I will always just be Caspian, never a legendary King of Old," he said. Little did he know how terribly wrong he was.

"Oh, come off it," Penelope said. Caspian looked back down at her to see her blue eyes dancing merrily. "Come on, you have a prophecy! And so do I, so that means that we must be destined to be great rulers of Narnia. Let's start our own legend. We can be the King and Queen of New," she said. Caspian's heart swelled to the point of bursting at the possibilities she offered him; the happy hope her words filled him with nearly suffocating him.

And so, he slid his hand out of hers so that it was his hand encasing hers, and exchanged a smile with her. Then, hand in hand, the King and Queen of New started down the path as the centaurs bowed deeply. Following the centaurs lead, all the other creatures bowed to them, as they had not done to the Kings and Queens of Old.

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Caspian was showing Peter around the How, and he did so with a strange sense of superiority and drive, his competitiveness and longing to impress the fair-haired king giving him an odd manner. Peter, on the other hand, was anything but impressed. If anything, he was growing extremely annoyed by the prince, and his already bad impression of him just grew stronger. As he and his three siblings had reached the main chamber of the How, he had turned to see his twin entering the How after them, but not alone. Peter's eyes had narrowed and his expression, and mood, turned poisonous as he took in the elated expression on Caspian's face, and then saw their linked hands. His face had turned purple with rage and Edmund, noticing the two and immediately checking for his brother's reaction, worried if his head was going to explode.

Peter, seeing as he was the oldest of four (now five) children, was very protective of each of his siblings, and his new sister was no exception. Not only was he getting protective, but he felt his competitive side slightly getting a hold of him also. He felt threatened by the Telmarine, and suddenly felt as if he needed to compete with him for his own sister's affection. He felt, being perfectly honest with himself, a little jealous of Caspian because he and Penelope were so close already, when he, Peter, had barely met her.

As the pair had reached the group, they dropped hands, but before Peter could feel smug relief, Caspian turned and pulled Penelope in for a hug. Peter felt Susan, who was next to him, tense up, and looked down to see her glaring at the two with her jaw held taught. Feeling her brother's gaze on her, she looked up at him, and in that look they silently agreed on one thing-something had to be done about them. Fast.

Edmund cleared his throat. Caspian and Penelope pulled apart quickly and looked apologetically at the four. One look at Peter and Susan, and they knew they had crossed a line they were unaware was written.

"Um, I'm sorry," Penelope stammered, stepping away from Caspian with a bright red face. All the response her twin could manage was a short, sharp nod.

"So this is it, huh?" Peter said, rounding on Caspian and shooting a skeptical look around the How. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy wondered off together to explore the How on their own. Caspian, picking up on his tone and manner, became defensive.

"It may not be what you were expecting, but it is defensible." he replied. Peter shot him a look that was less than friendly.

"It'll work.. I suppose." he said, beginning to walk off. Caspian and Penelope exchanged looks, Caspian seething and Penelope taken aback.

"Peter!" Susan called from a corridor across the chamber. All three looked up at her. "You may want to come and see this,"

Peter jogged up and followed her into the corridor, and Penelope and Caspian followed him to see what she meant. When they arrived to where Susan and the others had disappeared they found themselves in a corridor that had the story of the Kings and Queens of Old painted on the walls. The particular painting Susan was in front of was of the four at their coronation. Peter's eyes were widened and glazed as he took in the painting. The siblings all silently stood, reveling in the old times. It was Susan who broke the silence.

"It's us," she whispered.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked.

"You don't know?" Caspian asked, sounding generally surprised. Penelope noticed how his eyes became glued to Susan and felt the beginnings of jealousy stir in the pit of her stomach. Before anyone could say anything else, Pattertwig the squirrel came scampering down the corridor and scrambled up onto his favorite perch; Penelope's left shoulder.

"Hello, little fuzz ball," she greeted him warmly. He bit her ear in response.

"Hello, big bald one," he said, earning a snicker from Edmund. "Trumpkin told me that Trufflehunter told him that Glenstorm told him that his wife, Wanefeather, needs you for your fitting."

"Wow, could anyone else possibly have been involved in the passing of that message?" Penelope asked jokingly. Then she looked confused. "What fitting?"

"For your armor," cheeped the squirrel excitedly. "You're going to be a warrior!"

Penelope laughed. "Alright, could you go tell her I'll be there in a moment?"

The little squirrel bowed his head and leapt from his perch, and in a moment was gone. Penelope turned to the group.

"I suppose I'll meet up with you all later. If you will excuse me." she said. Caspian stepped up next to her.

"You will have to come and show me your armor," he said, "I am sure you will look absolutely lovely in it."

Something in Peter snapped at that moment. His face was burning with rage, and his eye gave an involuntary twitch. He couldn't believe the audacity of this young man, who would have the nerve to make a move on his sister! Even worse, Penelope didn't seem to mind it! Peter's blood was boiling.

"Perhaps you could accompany me to the fitting?" Penelope suggested, but Peter in his rage heard 'perhaps you could accompany me _into_ the fitting,' so it was understandable that he lost all sense of self control when Caspian said,

"I would like nothing else as much as I would this,"

Peter shot forward and shoved himself in between the two, unintentionally shoving Penelope into the wall, and rounded on Caspian.

"Now, look here," he barked. "I have stood by and watched you paw all over Penelope since we've arrived to the How, but that was just too far! Have you no sense of decency?! You're a prince, for Alsan's sake, and yet you're behaving like some Calormene beggar, throwing yourself upon her as you are! You have no reason, business, or right to behave as you are and fling your affections where they are not wanted! Now then, she will go on to her fitting on her own, and as she leaves I expect your messed up ideas of being with her to leave with her, and you to realize your place and keep away from her."

The corridor was deathly silent. Caspian glared viciously, hatred burning in him. Lucy looked frightened, and was cowering behind Edmund, who looked angry; but it was directed at Caspian, not his brother. Susan looked slightly smug, and slightly cross. She was happy Caspian had been put in his place, but frustrated by the thought Peter might react the same way if the prince turned his affections to her as she hoped he would.

Peter turned to Penelope, sharp words on his tongue for her just waiting to be spat out, but stopped short. She was looking up at him with angry tears brimming in her eyes, and her brows were furrowed deeply over the swimming blue pools. Her cheeks were flushed a furious shade of red. Her jaw was set and her lips, which were white with anger, were pulled together tightly. Her small, thin form was slightly trembling, and her hands were balled into fists.

After a long, deathly silent pause, Penelope lashed out. "Who do you think you are?" she thundered. Her voice only grew with her anger. "So I suppose you think just because you're my brother you get to prance into my life and take control of it, eh? Well, you can take those thoughts and shove them right back into your thick head! I am 16 years old, and I hardly need anyone bossing me around! I am _not_ a child!" and with that, she stormed off through the tunnel, leaving the others in a stunned silence.

It was Susan who broke the silence, repeating the words she had said to him at a similar time. "Well, that was handled nicely." she said to the back of Peter's head. He remained frozen, staring after Penelope, feeling sickened with himself.

Lucy walked up to Peter and soothingly rubbed his arm. "She didn't mean it, Pete," she said consolingly. Peter didn't acknowledge her.

"She hates me.." he whispered, sounding as if he'd just been slugged in the stomach.

"Now, you don't know that." Edmund said. "She's probably just having a womanly moment. You know how girls are." This earned him nasty looks from Susan and Lucy.

Peter quickly and furiously shook his head, recovering himself, and turned to the others. They were all watching him with uncertain expressions.

"Well, I believe you were about to give us a tour?" he said to Caspian, as if nothing had happened. Caspian, whose ego was furiously wounded and was extremely angry at Peter, gave him a short nod and grabbed a torch from the holder in the wall, taking off down the tunnel. The four followed, Peter and Edmund also grabbing torches, until they came down into a new, pitch dark chamber.

Right in front of them was a huge stone slab that was cracked right down the middle. Carvings in another language ran along the edges. As they studied the slab, Caspian went up to a stone troth filled with a flammable substance and dipped his torch into it. Immediately, his flame shot through the troth, which turned out to run along the walls of the entire chamber, which was much bigger than any of them expected.. The walls became illuminated, and they saw that they were covered in magnificently detailed, life sized carvings of Narnian creatures. Centaurs, fauns, gryphons, and much more stood, proudly looking down at the slab. They all held weapons and similar expressions, yet none of them looked alike.

In the very center of the room, in between two grand pillars, was a somber looking carving of a lion; The Lion. His head was slightly bowed, one of his huge extended forward. He, too, had his eyes on the slab.

Lucy, realizing what this room was and becoming overcome with emotions, stepped toward the Stone Table, her eyes glazed and far away. She laid a trembling hand on the ancient stone that held so many memories, good and bad, and looked up at the stone Aslan. She turned back to Susan, who was a step behind her.

"He must know what he's doing," she murmured. Susan smiled sadly, her eyes fixed on Aslan.

"I think it's up to us now," Peter said, watching his siblings for their reactions. They all made eye contact before turning back to the table.

This time, as she gazed up at him, Lucy noticed Aslan's down turned gaze was sorrowful.

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**Bum bum bum! Drama! Twin fights! Aslan! Oh my! :O**

**Read and review! Tell me what you thought about this chapter!**

**Your reviews make me smile and feel like a good writer! They make me want to post sooner for you all! :D**


	13. Chapter 12 The Plan

*Chapter 12-The Plan*

**Beunos dias, seniors and senioritas! Once again, I bring you another chapter in my story! Huzzah!**

**The new Harry Potter movie was so awesome! I saw it last night with a couple of my buds and the theatre was absolutely packed. It was really good as a movie, but not at all like the book. But it was still awesome! :D**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia, or any of the characters.**

**NOW ENJOY**

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Penelope stormed away from the dumbfounded Peter, her anger boiling her blood and her vision turning red and spotty. Who did he think he was, embarrassing her like that?

_Your older brother,_ said the logical voice in the back of her head.

_Shut up. Nobody asked you, _said the angry part of her mind, which was the majority of it at that particular moment. He certainly was her brother, but he hardly knew her well enough to be bossing her around as he had.

When she reached the armory, still fuming, but not quite as angry, a female centaur that had to be Wanefeather was waiting outside it, looking around the main chamber with a slightly impatient look on her face. Once she spotted Penelope, she grabbed her arm and guided her through a corridor and into the armory. Once there, she found two other female centaurs, a female dwarf that appeared to still be a teenager, and a few fauns (male of course, for it is common knowledge there are no female fauns in Narnia) scurrying about piecing together armor and, in the cause of the dwarf, holding out a deep blue skirt.

"You'd best get comfortable, Daughter of Eve," said Wanefeather from her place besides Penelope. "You're going to be here a long while,"

It was true. Around an hour and a half later, Penelope stepped back into the main chamber fully suited for battle and looking very pleased. She now wore a deep blue skirt that fell down to her feet and was a bit too long for her, with a chain mail top of sorts and red tinted leather bodice over it. The sleeves of the chain mail came down to her elbows and flared out as they went down, and she wore tough leather arm guards coming up to her mid arm. A sword belt was around her waist, and an empty quiver was strapped to her back. Pattertwig and Trufflehunter, who were conversing in the main chamber, stopped their conversation and looked at her, both of them smiling.

"Oh, look at you!" said Pattertwig, clambering up to her shoulder. "You look positively fierce!"

"You look like a warrior," said Trufflehunter. Penelope looked to see his eyes misting as he gazed up at her. Blushing, she opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Telmarine! In the woods! They know we're here! They've discovered our army!" the little blond faun who was put on guard was sprinting into the How, his face terror stricken and his shout panicked. A huge panic instantly broke out, everyone running around and tripping over each other and shrieking and losing any sense of organization they had previously possessed.

"Get the Kings and Queens, and the Prince!" a creature's shout rang out above the mass hysteria. Penelope, Trufflehunter, and Pattertwig exchanged looks, and without looking to see if anyone else followed her, Penelope took off to the chamber she knew the royals were in. The terrified Narnians didn't see her, but they did see Trufflehunter (Pattertwig was still on Penelope's shoulder) waddling after her, and followed him.

Penelope's heart rate picked up and dread filled her. She wasn't too keen on the idea of facing her twin so soon after their fight, but continued on anyways. He and the others needed to know, petty sibling spats be darned.

She and Pattertwig burst into the chamber, closely followed by the other Narnians. The four, who were standing around the Stone Table and Caspian, who was off to the side, all turned with confused expressions to see their entire army coming through the corridor wearing similar expressions of terror.

"The Telmarines know we're here," Penelope said. Peter's back went ramrod straight.

"You're certain?" Susan gasped disbelievingly.

"Unfortunately. Our watch guard saw a Telmarine spy among the trees, but he got away before we could capture him." Penelope replied with a curt nod of her head.

"Oh, no!" Lucy said despairingly.

"We need to start planning. Now." ever cool and collected Peter said, taking control of the situation. He turned to a couple of fauns who were fidgeting and whispering nervously off to the side.

"You two, go through the How and make sure everyone's here within the next half hour." he said. The fauns nodded, bowed, and ran off to get the others.

The chamber was filled with quiet, frightened murmuring, from all except the six royals for around the next half hour until the fauns returned with 40 or so scragglers. The crowd fell silent and quickly crowded around Peter and Caspian. The other royals sat around the edge of the crowd, in the very front.

"For those of you who just joined us, this meeting has been called because one of our guards has informed us that earlier this day a Telmarine spy was discovered among the trees. We are all here to discuss our plan of action." Peter began the meeting.

"What are your ideas, King Peter?" asked Pattertwig from the top of Penelope's head.

"It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way." Peter said. Penelope, despite the anger she still felt towards him for embarrassing her in front of Caspian, couldn't help but admire his strong personality and leadership skills. "That means those same men aren't protecting his castle."

"What do you propose we do, Your Majesty?" Reepicheep asked.

"We need to get ready for-"

"We need to start planning for-"

Peter and Caspian, who had spoken at the same moment, froze, giving each other nasty looks. Peter's was the nastier, however, and Caspian stood down. Looking self satisfied, Peter continued.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us," he said.

"But that's crazy, no one has ever taken that castle!" Caspian hissed.

"There's always a first time," Peter said back simply.

"We'll have the element of surprise," Trumpkin jumped in.

"But we have the advantage _here_," Caspian said, sounding fed up with absolutely everything and everyone. Susan stood and went to his side.

"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely." she said to Peter, who gave her a dark look. Penelope went to Caspian's other side.

"Besides, why should we risk our soldiers, when we already have so few, on a move with such an uncertain outcome?" she said. If possible, Peter's expression grew angrier.

"Do you really think me so foolish as to take our whole army?" he snapped. "Of course we'll only take half of them." Penelope's expression now mirrored her twin's and her fists were clenched.

"And only return with half of that half?" she growled. Peter opened his mouth to retort and stepped up right into her face, but before a real battle of the twins could ensue, Caspian spoke.

"She has a point." he said lowly, drawing Peter's attention.

"I, for one, feel safer underground," Trufflehunter put in, his voice tranquil as usual.

"Look," Peter said to Caspian, paying no heed to the badger. "I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress. It's a tomb."

"Yes, and if they're smart, the Telmarine's will just wait and starve us out," Edmund spoke up, picking his older brother's side. _As per usual_, Penelope noted, measuring her younger brother. Edmund, noticing her gaze on him, shot her an apologetic look. The two, despite the fact they had not really spoken, had bonded, and he didn't want to offend her. She gave him a respectful nod, showing all was well.

"We could collect nuts!" Pattertwig suggested, kneading Penelope's hair.

"Yes, and throw them at the Telmarines!" Reepicheep said in a voice mocking the squirrel's enthusiasm. "Shut up!" he spat, and then turned to Peter. "I think you know where I stand, Sire."

There was a pause, then Peter turned to Glenstorm. "If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?" he asked. The centaur looked uncertainly to Caspian and Penelope, who had similar expressions of desperation. His loyalty, unlike the mouse's, lied firstly and foremostly with the future King and Queen, not the past ones.

"Or die trying, My Liege." he finally said with a bow of his head, his expression grim. Peter nodded thoughtfully.

"That's what I'm worried about," Lucy's voice came. Peter turned to her with a confused and slightly aggravated expression.

"Sorry?"

"You're all acting as if there's only two options. Dying here, or dying there." she said. Penelope was impressed with the maturity the girl handled herself with. She was very wise for a girl her age.

"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu," Peter said crossly, turning away from her but stopping as she spoke.

"No, _you're_ not listening! Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?" she snapped pointedly directing her glare to the carving of Aslan. Peter looked as if she'd bruised his over inflated ego.

"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," he snapped, turning and exiting the chamber. The Narnians stood in an uncomfortable dead silence, not sure what to make of the news that their High King had abandoned the Great Lion. If he didn't have faith in him anymore, why should they?

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It was the evening of the raid on the castle, about a week after the planning of the raid. Peter was walking among the anxiously collected groups of Narnians making sure they knew the plan and their role in it. Most of them did, and were chatting with their comrades in hushed tones. Penelope stood with Caspian, Nikabrik, and Pattertwig, and they spoke lowly and darkly.

"This is a bad idea." Pattertwig said. He was one of the ones staying behind, apparently due to Lucy's request (she had quite taken a liking to the little squirrel) but was still vehemently against the whole thing.

"It really is," Penelope agreed. A faun passed by and slowed down as it passed the group, its expression suspicious, and they fell silent.

Once the faun had passed, the conversation picked back up again with Caspian speaking next. "It is Peter being a stubborn mule, is what it is. He is so set on being right and proving himself, he does not care a lick for the Narnians he is dooming."

Nikabrik snorted. "So much for the Magnificent." he said, crossing his arms across his chest. Caspian made an 'mmm' noise in agreement. Penelope grew angry at the way they were talking about her brother. Mad at him or not, he was her brother, and she wouldn't tolerate them demeaning him as they were.

"He's not doing this to _prove _anything," she said defensively. "He thinks he's doing the right thing. He's a good man, and he wouldn't do anything less than what he thought was right for his people and his country." Caspian stood silently while Nikabrik just couldn't let Peter get the upper hand.

"Well if that's his idea of right, he may just be thick in the head," he grumbled. Penelope's glare turned deadly, but the conversation died seeing as Peter himself came up to them at that moment. He was wearing armor similar to Penelope's, only he didn't have a chain mail top on and he wasn't in a skirt, but for the most part they looked the same. They were even wearing the same colours. Edmund, dressed similar to Peter only where Peter wore blue, he wore green, was trailing behind him in the groups, and Trumpkin was right behind Peter. Trumpkin came to stand by Penelope and she leaned down to hug him and give him a hug.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said, referring to him running off to meet the Telmarines when they had first met Caspian. He chuckled.

"C'mon, I'm a grown dwarf, I can take care of myself," he said jokingly. "I should be saying that to you, tripping around the forest as you did." he said, giving her a meaningful look. She looked ashamed, and he sensed her guilt and turned joking again. "Besides, you're the little one here."

Penelope snorted. "This coming from the 3 foot tall dwarf. Anyways, I'm 16 years old. I hardly think I can be considered a little one anymore."

"Penelope, to me, you'll always be a little one," Trumpkin said affectionately.

Peter watched the exchanged, feeling warm happiness spread through him. Lately, he'd been worrying about Penelope's family. Not that he doubted the four who had raised her-Nikabrik was a little shady, and Pattertwig was a typical scatterbrained squirrel, but the other two seemed well enough. And they all seemed devoted to each other, for the most part.

"What do you want, My Liege?" Nikabrik asked, not meeting Peter's eyes and a mocking tone in his voice. Penelope and Trumpkin turned from their conversation and turned their attention to him.

"I'm here to discuss the raid and your places in it," he said, looking between the group. "So, I need you each to tell me your goals for the raid."

Caspian spoke first. "I am to fly in with you and the others, retrieve Dr. Cornelius, then immediately run into the gatehouse and get the drawbridge down." he said, and Peter gave him a short nod before turning to Nikabrik.

"I'm to, along with Glenstorm, lead the troops in to battle at Edmund's signal." the dwarf said. Peter gave him the same short, curt nod before turning to Penelope.

Penelope saw that as he turned to her, his eyes became weary and somewhat sad. Penelope's heart felt heavy as she realized he was hurt by their spat before the meeting. She knew she'd been too harsh with him, and had only spoke the words out of anger and spite. She knew she'd need to patch things up with him before the raid, for their was a very real chance she might not get the chance afterwards.

"Penelope? Are you alright?" Caspian asked, placing a gentle hand on her arm. She snapped out of her daze and looked away from Peter to see him watching her with concern in his gentle brown eyes. She felt her cheeks flush, touched by his concern, and looked down.

"I'm fine. I was just.. thinking." she mumbled.

"Are you sure? You looked so sad," Caspian said. Penelope's heart warmed. He was so caring.

"Yes." she said. She turned back to Peter. "I am to fly with you, Caspian, and the others. I am to go with you as far as the doctors chambers, then I am to continue on my own to find Miraz and keep him cornered until Caspian arrives. Then I am to go once he arrives and head for the courtyard and tell Edmund to give the troops the signal and start opening the gate." as she continued explaining her part, all four of their expressions were changing to those of concern, to at the end downright doubtful.

"I don't remember giving you that much to handle.." Peter began, but Caspian cut him off.

"Penelope, there is no way you can handle all of that!" he said. Penelope's gaze turned icy.

"You doubt my capabilities, Caspian?" she said darkly. He became flustered and tried to reply, but she ignored him and turned back to Peter.

"That is what you've given me to handle, and I promised I would take care of it. There is no time, or point in changing it to appease yourselves." as the others began to protest, she quickly added. "I do have a question though. The weapon I have been given is a bow and arrow, and I'm sorry to say I have minimal training in the use of it. I am, however, quite good with the sword."

Peter's brows creased as he thought. "Hmm.. well it's too late to make you a sword that would work proportionally.. although I'm not in any way liking the idea of sending my sister into battle with only an unfamiliar weapon as protection.."

"I'm not completely unfamiliar with it. I mean, I'm not bad, but I'm certainly not great. It would work, if it had to, I suppose." she said. Peter shrugged.

"Then it'll have to. Besides, there's no better place to improve your skills then in a real battle."

Trumpkin snorted and muttered something dark under his breath before storming off. Pattertwig was scowling as darkly as a squirrel could, and Nikabrik's expression was poisonous, while Caspian flat out looked like he was going to soil himself in his rage. He couldn't believe Peter; couldn't believe himself for ever looking up to him! He'd practically blown off Penelope's, his own twins, problems and was sending her into battle with a weapon she had admitted she barely knew how to use, and didn't give a second thought about it!

Penelope didn't seem to notice this; or at least she acted like she didn't. She stepped closer to Peter.

"Peter, could.. could we talk?" she asked softly. He looked uncertain, and was about to reply, when Edmund came up to them.

"Pete?" he said, drawing his attention. "It's time."

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**Well? Review and tell me what you thought! :D**

**Thanks to all who reviewed on my last chapter! I love you all very very much! :D**

**And, I'm off to eat some chicken noodle soup, and YOU, who are reading this right now, are off to review this chapter! :P**


	14. Chapter 13 The Raid Part 1

*Chapter 13- The Raid Part 1-

**Halloooo, my lovelies! I give you yet another chapter in my story! Huzzah!**

**No news today. I went to my friends house the other night so I'm like worn out, and therefore have no sarcastic remarks to make. *pouts* It was fun, we dressed up and did our hair and makeup to look like Tim Burton characters. :D**

**Oh, wait, yes I do have news, my sister Jessie came back from church camp the other day. Yay!**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the characters C.S. Lewis' mind gave birth to. I do, however, own any characters and plots MY mind gave birth to. :P**

**Thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter! I appreciate it! :D**

**NOW ENJOY**

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The Narnians silently progressed through the woods. They had left shortly after Edmund's announcement, and were now advancing towards Miraz's castle, their intentions to take the Telmarines unprepared and unawares. Penelope was walking next to a gryphon called Purrfowan who would fly her into the castle, and on her other side was Edmund and his own gryphon. The two siblings were talking in hushed tones.

Edmund was a fine young man, and Penelope was proud to be his sister. He had a good sense of humor and was very conversational and witty. He told her of his previous adventures in Narnia, starting when Lucy had first entered through the wardrobe at the professor's house up until the hunting of the White Stag; their final adventure of the Golden Age. He spoke of the sorrow of Aslan's sacrifice, the thrill of the Battle at Beruna, the exhilaration of smashing the White Witch's wand, the majesty of his coronation and of many other wonderful memories he had from his reign. Penelope listened in wide eyed wonder, drinking every word he said in like it was holy water. After Edmund finished his accounts of Narnia, they settled into a comfortable silence for some time until Edmund said,

"So, you've heard enough about me. Tell me something about yourself." he paused, then added playfully, "And I though girls were the ones who chatted your ears off."

But the joke was lost on Penelope. She kept her gaze on the ground and after a moment's pause answered. "I'm sorry. I know I don't really say much. That's just because I don't have much to say."

"What do you mean?" Edmund asked, growing serious again.

"Well, there's nothing to say, really. There's nothing exciting or special about me, and I've no grand tales to tell of my life."

"What? Come on, you're just being modest!" Edmund said. Penelope shrugged.

"Not really. I mean, you basically heard my life story back in the forest. There's nothing more I can add."

"Oh, come on! There's got to be something!" Edmund said. "I'm your younger brother. I have to know everything about you, because I need some material to tease you with!"

Penelope gave him a look like he had four heads and horns. Which, being in Narnia, was possible. "Well that certainly doesn't make me want to share," she said.

Edmund sighed in a very dramatic manner. "I was just joking! Now come on. I use my kingly powers to command you to tell me something about yourself."

Penelope snorted, then after a moment she spoke. "Alright, alright. Well, ever since I was little, I was told every day I was not to ever be outside unless someone was with me and to only talk to and be seen by people who my guardians deemed 'safe.' I've always been very lonely, not only because I was the only person I knew of in the forest but because I didn't have a family. I didn't have anyone who could relate to me. Sure, I had Trufflehunter and the others, but they had their brothers and sisters, unlike me. And then, I was always the only female I knew." she paused, looking sad and thoughtful, and then continued in a very different tone. "When I was five years old I went through a strange phase where I thought I was a squirrel and I climbed trees after Pattertwig, and one time when I did I fell and broke my leg, arm, and 3 ribs."

At this, Edmund busted into a roaring laugh, doubling over and clutching his stomach. Trumpkin, Peter, Susan, and Caspian, who had not helped but overhear their conversation also started laughing. All except Trumpkin, who leaned into the conversation.

"Serves you right, climbin' trees like that." he said to her. Then he turned to the others. "She ran around without any clothes on whatsoever and collected nuts. No matter how much we begged her to put some clothes on, she absolutely refused. It was when she dug a hole in the ground, buried her nut collection, and told us she was hibernating for the winter that we laid down the law and locked her in the house and threatened to starve her that she finally got dressed and stopped squeaking to communicate."

Edmund, Peter, Caspian and Susan were, by the time he had finished, laying on the ground clutching their stomachs laughing until their faces were purple and they were in tears.

Penelope, blushing violently, glared at the dwarf. "Nobody asked you," she grumbled.

"You thought-you thought- you were a squirrel!!" Edmund cried between laughs and gasps for air. The combination of the three made him sound like he was dying.

If possible, Penelope's face turned redder. "I'm going to the back of the line." she said, turning to leave, but Edmund caught her hand.

"No-stay!" he gasped, still laughing and trying to breath. Penelope had a sharp reply on her tongue, but the sudden stopping of the gryphons interrupted her.

"It is time, Your Majesties." Peter's gryphon said solemnly, and the jolly mood quickly died and was replaced by a cold feeling of anticipation.

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The night air was cold against Penelope's skin as her gryphon flew through the night sky, advancing silently to Miraz's castle. Her face and hands were numb from the cold, and her heart was pounding with nerves. She tried to distract herself by looking down at the ground and observing the towns as she flew over them, but no matter what she did she felt her anxieties creep up on her and settle in the pit of her stomach. She was going into a very uncertain situation that could quickly escalate into a battle with only a bow, a weapon she was not very skilled with, as her defense. She sighed softly, and it was a sigh full of all her mixed up feelings. Peter was a good man, good strategist, and good brother. He wouldn't send her into what could be a very bloody battle with an unfamiliar weapon unless her truly believed his words; that it would benefit her. She trusted him. Not only as her leader, but as her twin brother.

She noticed they were now approaching a huge looming shadow that had to be the castle. Penelope let out a small gasp as she took it in. Caspian had tried vaguely to describe it, but words could do it no justice. It was a huge, dark stoned thing that sat on a great precipice surrounded by never ending darkness. If you fell form one of the many great turrets, Penelope wagered, you would probably never again feel the comfort of ground beneath your feet. A large stone pathway led from the castle to the town, which consisted of buildings of all different sizes constructed of the same cold stone as the castle. Penelope let out an involuntary shudder at the sinisterness of the whole thing.

Edmund turned to her and gave a small salute. "See you later," he whispered, just as his gryphon swooped its wings, gaining speed, and did a magnificent dive, coming up again and landing on the roof of the watchtower turret. The guard who was on watch, and was looking rather sleepy at the moment, turned to look around as their landing made a small noise, but not seeing anything he turned back to his tired vigil.

The gryphon leapt from the tower and grabbed the man, who grunted before having his throat sliced and now-lifeless body flung into the abyss below the castle. Edmund jumped down to where the guard had been standing and pulled out his torch, sending his first signal of the night to the five remaining flyers. Penelope felt her gryphon gain speed, then with a whoosh of air the two were flying down towards the castle.

As his gryphon and he dove through the air, Caspian caught sight of a soldier patrolling on an open pathway between turrets. His gryphon, also seeing the man, dropped his legs and sword arm, keeping hold of his left arm, and he drew his sword and in one sweep killed the man. His gryphon gathered him back up into its hold and flew him over the wall of the path, continuing on to another path close by.

Another guard, this one on the pathway the five were aiming to land, turned and caught sight of Edmund, and with a sly look drew his crossbow and aimed it at the younger King. Susan, seeing this, whipped out her own bow and fired it, hitting the man square in the chest. His comrade turned frantically to see who had killed his fellow soldier and could do nothing but watch as Peter landed, his sword drawn, and brought it across his throat.

Susan landed immediately after Peter, followed by Caspian, Penelope, and finally Trumpkin. Susan and Penelope drew their bows and notched arrows and Trumpkin and Caspian unsheathed their swords. Peter paused to wait for everyone to catch up with him, and as Penelope and Trumpkin, who were the last two, reached the rest, they all stood silently catching their breath and appraising each other.

Penelope looked at each of their faces morosely, wondering if this would be the last time she would get to. She didn't know what she would do if anything happened to any of them. Her now glistening eyes lingered on Caspian longest, and he met her stare with equal solemnity, not doubt sharing her sobering thoughts. She prayed to Aslan this wasn't the last time she would get to gaze into his deep chocolate eyes.

Peter's whisper broke through her depressing train of thoughts. "Alright, from this point on, Caspian's leading until we reach the professor's chambers and retrieve him. From there on, we split up. Everyone knows their parts. _Do not fail_, for if even one of us gets caught or worse the whole plan falls through." he paused, giving each of them meaningful looks. "From this moment on, there is to be absolute silence. Understood?" another pause. "Caspian?"

Caspian gave a quick, crisp nod and headed off through the turrets, the others trailing close behind him. They passed single file through many dark, empty passageways and stairwells. Caspian led them through the servant's ways, the ones no nobles, soldiers, or people who could throw a wrench in the plan even knew existed.

The inside of the castle was constructed of the same dark stone as the outside, the same dark stone was throughout the entire thing, with absolutely no variation of scenery or colour. The few regular corridors they actually went through were large, with wide halls and high ceilings that intimidated Penelope, who was used to the soft openness of the forest. The whole castle was cold, dark, and for the most part, windowless.

As they walked up yet another flight of stairs, Penelope found herself behind Peter, and her mind drifted off back to the corridor of paintings. Guilt gnawed at her mind, and she worked at her bottom lip. She need to apologize, and she knew it. She desperately hoped she got the chance to, preferably before the drama of the raid really unfolded. It would kill her if something happened to him-or her- and she never told him she was sorry. She swallowed past a lump in her throat.

Suddenly, the group was on top of a turret that was placed on the inside of the castle, facing the courtyard. Penelope, who was still lost in her guilt, wasn't paying much attention and as the passed into the cold night air, and was surprised when she collided into Peter's back very roughly, snapping out of her reverie. The force with which she slammed into her twin knocked her backwards, and she found herself stumbling and tripping over the ledge. With a loud, ragged gasp sufficing as a scream, she felt herself tumble backwards through the air, but quickly two strong arms caught her before she could actually fall. She looked up, eyes widened in fear, to see Peter hanging over the edge of the turret, his arms clutching her own. His expression was terrified as he looked down at her, and then he quietly called Caspian over. The prince was there in a flash, his expression mirroring Peter's as he looked down at her.

"Help me lift her back up," Peter whispered, and they each took an arm and pulled her back onto the safety of the rather crowded turret. Once her feet were planted firmly on the stone again, Peter had his arms wrapped tightly around her in a deep hug. But where Penelope pulled away smiling, her twin's expression put a thick lump in her throat. His blue eyes were glassy with the tears he was blinking back, and he was trying to smile back at her, but failing. She felt her bottom lip tremble as she looked at him and pulled him in for another hug.

The twins stood embracing each other for a few moments until Peter pulled back at a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Susan, and impatient look on her face, holding a rope out to him.

"The plan?" she hissed. Peter nodded, taking the rope and, after checking to make sure no one was around to see, threw it down over the side of the wall. He stepped to the side and made an impatient gesture to Caspian, telling him to go forward. Caspian shot him a dirty look before hoisting himself down the wall and entering his professor's chambers through the large window. Peter sidled down next, followed by Penelope.

As she reached the bottom of the rope, she felt hand wrap around her waist and gently place her inside the window. She turned to see Peter performing the same act for Susan, and then the two entered the chamber together, Susan slightly hanging back to make sure Trumpkin got down safely. Penelope watched the dwarf come down the rope, making sure nothing happened to him, and let out a small cry as she saw him lose his footing and fall, just as she had, over the balcony. Upon hearing her cry, Susan turned just in time to see him fall, and using her war trained reflexes grabbed the strap of his quiver of arrows, yanking him back over the railing on the balcony. He gave her a short, sharp nod in thanks, before they both jumped into the room, Peter quietly closing the large wooden shudders after them.

Caspian was looking around the room, which was a mess with books and papers thrown across the table, chairs, and floor. Some of the many curtains around the whole study were torn in places and even pulled completely down. It was obvious something not good for them had happened in there.

Caspian's dark eyes were shadowed by his deeply furrowed brow, and his jaw was set tersely in anger. He paced an angry circle around the room before coming back to the table, where he stopped in his tracks. With a stricken expression on his face, he reached out and slowly picked up a pair of spectacles, caressing them as if they were some type of precious stone. After staring uncomprehendingly at them for a moment, he looked up determinedly at Peter.

"I have to find him," he whispered.

"Caspian, there's no time! You need to get to the gatehouse and get the gate open!" Peter whispered back, frustration colouring his tone. Caspian's eyes flashed in anger.

"You would not even be here without him!" he hissed, putting Peter in his place for a moment. Just a moment. "And neither would I," he added softly, sending a pang through Penelope's heart. She stepped next to his side and placed a consoling hand on his broad shoulder, offering him a small smile that he returned half heartedly.

"You and I can handle Miraz," Susan said quietly to Peter.

"And I can still get to the gate in time." Caspian put in. Peter looked resignedly thoughtful for a moment. before Trumpkin spoke.

"Well whatever you're going to make him do, I think Penelope ought to head out and find Miraz already," he said to Peter, who nodded.

All eyes in the room went to Penelope. She squirmed in her skin, feeling uncomfortable at being the focus of their stares, but put on a strong front. Looking each of them in the face, again having the awful thought that this might be the last time she got to do so, she savored each of them.

"Alright. I suppose that's it, then," she whispered, looking to Peter and giving him a nod. "I'll see you all in the courtyard, I guess."

"Be careful," Peter said, but she only just caught it for she had already turned and was heading at a run down the stairs. She wound her way through the corridors and stairwells, replaying Caspian's directions over and over again in her head until she found the hallway she was looking for. She found herself standing in a hallway with four doors on each side.

_Second door down, left side of the hallway. Make sure you take the SECOND door, or you're as good as dead._ Caspian's voice said to her in her head. _The first door is to his hunting hounds' chamber._

_His hounds have their own chamber?_ she had asked incredulously.

_You would be surprised where my uncle places his priorities,_ was Caspian's reply.

She smiled at the memory of the conversation.

"I hate being on the night guard duty," came a whiney male voice from around the corner of the hall, snapping Penelope out of her recollections. She quickly opened the door, without double checking to see if it was the second, and jumped over the threshold, silently shutting the door behind her. She heard the muffled voices of the guards through the thick door and released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as they passed. She turned with her back pressed against the door and surveyed the room, her eyes immediately landing on the sleeping forms of Miraz and Prunaprismia.

Miraz looked similar to Caspian in the face. They both had the same dark hair and tanned skin, with the same sharply chiseled jaw; only Miraz had a thick, meticulously trimmed beard that was cut into a point at his chin. He had thick eyebrows that were furrowed heavily in his sleep and he snored lightly. His age was evident in his slightly wrinkled face. Penelope noticed that his left ear was pierced.

After about ten minutes of waiting for her companions, she began to get very antsy and started pacing around the room, as if to walk away her nerves. _Where are they? What's taking them so long?_ she asked silently.

Her mind was reeling with possibilities, none of them to pleasant, when suddenly Miraz gave a loud, gasping breath and flipped onto his back, mumbling something incoherent. Penelope's heart picked up speed and started pounding so hard she wondered if it was going to pop out of her chest and start flopping around on the ground. She quickly pulled her bow off her back and strung an arrow, pointing it at him as he situated himself, mumbled something else along the lines of 'no, I did not do it,' let out arguably the loudest snore she'd heard in her entire life, and fell still again.

Penelope stood at the defensive, her bow trained on Miraz's chest, when the door suddenly burst open. Letting out a small, frightened cry, she turned and pointed her bow at the intruder and fired without really aiming. Her arrow whizzed past her startled target's left ear, missing by half an inch. The man entered the room and quickly closed the door and turned and gave her a furious look while drawing his sword.

"If I were a guard, you would be dead," Caspian hissed, shoving past the stunned Penelope and storming over to the sleeping form of his uncle.

"What're you doing?!" Penelope demanded, a sense of angry panic rising in her voice.

The point of Caspian's sword pressed into Miraz's throat, waking him from his slumber immediately. The way Miraz awoke make one think he had never really been asleep, Penelope noted. _Quite the opposite of little princey there.. _she shot Caspian a dirty look.

A forced, dark chuckle came from Miraz. "Thank goodness, you are safe," Penelope didn't at all like the way he said it.

"Get up," Caspian snapped, apparently not in the mood to chit chat over his safety. Miraz, a smirk on his face, threw the blankets back, purposefully smacking his wife on the arm as he did so with the back of his hand. Her eyes half opened and she murmured incoherently for a moment, before finally seeing the two armed intruders and fully waking up.

"Caspian?" she gasped disbelievingly.

"Stay where you are," Caspian snapped roughly at her, and it was then that Penelope noticed the slightly hysterical tone in his voice. However, she kept her eyes trained on Prunaprismia.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I should think it's obvious, dear." her husband said, giving Caspian a dark look. "You know, some families might consider this inappropriate behavior." he added meaningfully.

"That doesn't seem to have stopped_ you_!" Caspian snarled, shoving his sword deeper into his throat and drawing a tiny trickle of blood.

"But you're not like me, are you?" Miraz hissed lowly. "It's a shame. The first time you've shown any backbone, and it's such a waste,"

As the conversation progressed, Prunaprismia slowly reached up for the crossbow that was hung over their large four-poster bed. In a flash Penelope had another arrow strung and trained on her. Prunaprismia eyed her for a moment, before going ahead and grabbing the crossbow anyways. Penelope let out a low growl when the woman took aim at Caspian.

"Put the sword down, Caspian. I don't want to do this," she said, holding the crossbow steadily at her nephew's chest.

The door suddenly burst open yet again, swinging back and slamming against the stone wall. Penelope flinched at the sudden loud noise, but didn't turn around, not willing to risk Caspian's life by keeping an eye on Prunaprismia.

"We don't want you too, either," Susan's voice said, accompanied by the straining of her bow and the unsheathing of Peter's sword. Miraz placed his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes in an irritated way.

"This used to be a private room," he said pointedly.

"What're you doing? You're supposed to be in the gatehouse!" Peter's tone was seething, no doubt angry at the prince for further changing the plan. Penelope looked to see him giving Caspian a murderous look.

A gasp came from Prunaprismia, drawing Penelope's attention to her, and she saw that she was shooting a wide eyed look from Peter, to Penelope, to Miraz.

"The girl," she whispered. Miraz followed her gaze to Peter and Penelope, his expression changing to that of a smirk.

"So, the old doctor was right," he said, chuckling darkly. "His little prophecy was correct," he moved around Caspian, even though his sword was still pressed into his neck. He looked over at Prunaprismia and gave her a short nod, and her crossbow was then turned on Penelope. Penelope, who had lowered her bow in the midst of the drama, raised it back up again and aimed for Prunaprismia's chest. The Telmarine woman, who had clearly been about to fire, froze and held the younger woman's deadly gaze.

"Just try me," Penelope hissed venomously.

"What are you doing?!" Caspian cried, defensively moving in front of her, but she shoved him back.

"You would do no good to Narnia shot down by a crossbow," she said gently, turning back to Prunaprismia and pulling the arrow back so hard the bow started crackling with strain.

"Well, are you going to shoot her or not?!" Miraz barked at Prunaprismia, making her flinch. For a moment, Penelope felt bad for the woman.

"You try anything and I swear-" Peter growled, stepping forward with a dangerous expression on his face.

"Peter," Penelope said reprehensively, shooting him a look. She then turned back to her staredown with Prunaprismia, who was looking frightendly at the weapons pointed in her direction.

"My aunt, I ask you again, what are you doing?" Caspian asked again, sounding slightly calmer this time.

"Well I would hope you have enough sense to figure it out, Caspian," Miraz answered. When Caspian didn't reply, he continued. "Naturally that old fool was forced to tell me all he knew of Narnians, and was not the only one who had heard whispers of a Narnian prophecy of a Savior." at this, he casually went to the bookshelf and grabbed a very old, leather bound book that was entitled '_Narnians, Their Myths, Legends, and Prophecies,_' and turned to a marked page in the back, turning the book so everyone else could see.

One page was entirely a picture of an identical boy and girl holding hands, wearing crowns and beautiful clothes, surrounded by joyous Narnians who were gazing at them happily. The other was the beginning of a new chapter, 'Chapter 23-The Legend of the Savior of Narnia and our Deliverance.' Penelope, of course, could not read this, but had a good clue what the chapter was about by looking at the picture of the boy and girl.

"Why doesn't Narnia's Savior," Miraz sneered presently. "Read to us her own little prophecy?"

"I can't read." Penelope said bluntly, glad for the darkness of the room so he couldn't see her blush.

"Oh, I see," Miraz's tone was mocking. "Why doesn't your brother over there read it, then?"

Peter stepped forward and snatched the book from him and began reading, his voice filling the room. "'Perhaps the greatest and most talked about legend known by all Narnians is that of our Savior. The Daughter of Eve will come and lead an army of True Narnians to reclaim both the Narnians' land and what is destined to be her throne. But the question all Narnian's ask is, how will we know when our true Savior has come when Narnia is overtaken by the human vermin that is the Telmarines? The answer can be found in the prophecy of our Savior, which goes 'Out of the asked, when the time is right, a heroine will emerge, and be our dark oppressors' foe, the light. Leading the oppressed with her new allies, she will sit on the throne of her brother before her, as our Queen the High.' the last line of the prophecy says, in so many words, that she is the twin sister of our High King Peter the Magnificent. This has been confirmed by the stars, which I, the author, watch.'"

Peter trailed off and looked up at Penelope with wide eyes. They both simultaneously gulped loudly.

"So you see, it's only natural I should know of the 'heroine' that will save the Narnians from my 'dark, oppressive reign.'" he sneered mockingly, and he slowly began circling Penelope like a predator circles its wounded prey, for a bewildered Caspian had unconsciously lowered his sword as Peter read.

"Stay away from her!" Peter barked, lunging for Miraz, but an arrow whizzing inches away from his nose stopped him short. He looked to see Prunaprismia reloading her crossbow, a deranged look on her face.

"Stay back, savage!" she screeched. Another arrow darted past her right ear and found itself impaled in the heaboard.

"Don't you dare threaten my brother!" Penelope thundered, notching another arrow and aiming at Prunaprismia. "And this time, I won't miss," she added icily.

Miraz suddenly had a dagger drawn, but from where he got it no one noticed in the heat of things.

"And don't you threaten my wife, girl!" he roared, bringing his fist into Penelope's stomach and causing her to double over with a cry of pain. Several things then happened at once. As Miraz's fist made contact with her abdomen, Penelope dropped her bow and arrow and her now-emptied hands flew to her stomach. She bent in on herself as a reflex, and as she did Miraz's arm shot out, wrapping around her neck. Just as soon as she'd bent over, she was back up again, this time clutched in a stranglehold against the usurper. She felt cold metal against the tender flesh of her throat. All in the room were frozen and rigid.

"So you see, Narnia's Savior," he said, his warm breath tickling her ear, "Of course once I learned there were rumors of a Narnian uprising and overthrow of my empire, I looked into it. And I'm very prepared for you," at this he chuckled. Then he sighed remorsefully. "It is a bit of a shame that such a pretty face would make such a poor decision. I almost feel saddened I have to kill you."

"What a coincidence, me too," Penelope said, her panic giving her voice an edge. She felt Miraz shrug against her.

"Oh well. I believe I shall get over it. I've killed my fair share of men before. Not one of their deaths has haunted me," he said with a soft chuckle.

It was a terribly wrong thing to say. As the words left his lips, something in Caspian's face darkened and he let out a small cry, sounding terrifying and enraged. He stepped around Miraz, grabbed Penelope's arm and tore her out of his grasp, yanking her behind him and she went crashing to the ground. With one hand he punched the dagger out of Miraz's hand and the other pressed his sword into his neck once again.

"Caspian, what are you doing?" Peter shouted angrily, helping Penelope to her feet. She then retrieved her bow and arrow.

"Yes, boy, what are you doing?" Miraz hissed, not at all pleased about being the one being threatened once again. Caspian didn't answer, only stood giving him a look similar to one a deer might give to its hunter, only angrier.

"Caspian, you need to stop." Penelope said gently.

"NO!!" he practically shrieked. "I will not stop! Tonight, for once, I want the truth! Did you kill my father?"

The room was heavy with the dead silence that followed. No one in the room had seen that coming. The air was charged as they all waited for the response.

"Now we get to it," said Miraz almost softly. Caspian's comrades saw his shoulders slump ever so slightly.

"You said your brother died in his sleep," Prunaprismia said in a staggering voice. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"That was more or less true." was the murderer's reply.

"Caspian, this won't make things any better," Susan said, seeing his hold on his sword tighten. But Miraz was speaking, and he didn't seem to have heard her.

We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it. Your father knew that as well as anyone." Miraz said cruelly.

"How could you?" Prunaprismia half whispered. She had lowered her crossbow away from her nephew at this confession on her husband's part.

"For the same reason you will pull that trigger," Miraz snapped, giving her an angry look out of the corner of his eye, "For our son!"

"Stop!" cried Prunaprismia, re-aiming. Susan and Penelope took aim also, Susan at Miraz and Penelope at Prunaprismia.

"Stay right there!" Susan said authoritively.

"You need to make a choice, dear," Miraz was saying coolly. "Do you want our child to be king, or do you want him to be like Caspian here? _FATHERLESS_?"

"NO!" Prunaprismia's wild shriek pierced their ears and echoed through the whole castle, and then a chain of events was started. Her crossbow fired, going into Caspian's arm. Caspian let out a cry and dropped his sword, clutching the wound and doubling over. Miraz seized the moment and ran took off, exiting the chamber through a hidden door in the bookshelf (the Telmarines are a very paranoid people.) Susan fired an arrow that missed his head by inches. Penelope fired at Prunaprismia and got her square in the shoulder, and with another deranged cry she tore it out and ran after her husband. Peter ran to Caspian's side and caught him as he fell, holding him up with one arm and holding his sword with the other.

Penelope ran over and began to fix Caspian's arm as a warning bell was tolled, signaling the troops and the terrible turn of events the night was to take.

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**Jeez, that's like my longest chapter EVER! :O**

**I had better get reviews for that one! ..please? :P**

**I LOVE YOU CLICK THAT LITTLE BUTTON AND REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 14 The Raid Part 2

*Chapter 14- The Raid Part 2*

**HEY EVERYBODY!!!! :D false alarm yesterday, my mom forgot to undo the computer so I real quick jumped on today and typed this up so I can say I at least have one chapter up before I poof for the big move! :D however, this is probably gonna be the last chappie for like a week before we get the computer set up at the new place, so enjoy!! :D**

**I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of the original Narnians…YET**

**Review please! I enjoy getting yalls input on my story! :P**

**NOW ENJOY**

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Edmund stood on top of the watch tower, looking around with a bored expression and idly twirling his torch around in his hand like he was a flag twirler in a marching band. A yawn escaped him that he made no effort to cover. Why did he have to be the one who got stuck with the boring job of signaling the troops when his _sisters_ got to do all the dirty work in the castle?

Suddenly, a terrifying noise, much like a dying cat getting its tail stepped on, filled the night air, giving Edmund such a fright that he jumped and, to his great horror, dropped the torch clear over the turret. He looked down to see it hit the ground right behind a guard, missing the top of his head by a foot. The guard picked it up and curiously examined it, looking down into the large circular lens and flipping the switch. Bright light poured out of it, illuminating his face and blinding him. He gave a start and tried frantically to make the light go away, and just at that moment Edmund took of at a run back down the stairs until he reached the large window that was about 20 feet above the bumbling Telmarine.

Drawing a deep breath and sending a prayer to Aslan, he flung himself out of the window and down onto the unsuspecting Telmarine's back.

Right as he landed, a bell began tolling, signaling the Telmarines that they were under attack.

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The soldiers stood at the edge of the huge town, with Glenstorm and Nikabrik in the front, shrouded by an eerie fog that had accumulated during the late night hours. The small army of Narnians who had been selected to come on the raid shifted in place, grunts and snorts and whinnies rising from them. Glenstorm and Nikabrik were just as discomforted, with the centaur shifting his weight from leg to leg and the dwarf clenching and unclenching his fists. Surely, they should have been through the town by now, making their way to the castle. But for some reason, the younger of the Kings was yet to send them his signal. The question that was gnawing at all of their minds was- what was the delay?

It was then they saw the light, but instead of hitting them straight head on, appearing as a small dot, it was a long beam shooting up into the sky and hitting the turret.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nikabrik's dry voice and slightly nasally broke the thick silence. Glenstorm looked down at him with a slight scowl of confusion.

"Aslan knows," he said, turning his gaze back to the castle. Unlike the High King, he still believed.

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Susan ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the many winding corridors of Miraz's castle, Penelope and her with their bows in hand and the boys with their fists clenched around their sword hilts. She could hear Penelope's short and shallow breathing, and her heart went out to her older sister. For the most part, she was handling having her life threatened by a tyrant who knew everything about her fairly well.

Caspian, who Susan had been following as he started to go down a corridor to the right, suddenly stopped short. She came to stand at his side, shadowed by Penelope, and saw why he had stopped. Whereas he had been meaning to turn to the right, Peter was continuing straight, running out towards the courtyard.

"Peter-" Susan began, but he turned around and stared at the three of them standing there and a furious scowl crossed his face.

"Our troops are just outside, come on!!" he shouted, and without waiting for a reaction from us turned and took off. Caspian and Susan exchanged looks before grudgingly took off after him. Susan was seething, her mind reeling over what could possibly be driving him to do something so stupid as she met the cool night air of the courtyard.

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Peter turned and ran from the corridor, confident the other three would follow him. Why wouldn't they? Two of them were his sisters, and even if they weren't he was still their leader and king. His pace was quickened by the sound of approaching footsteps and shouts, and as he reached the courtyard he was met by three Telmarine soldiers with swords drawn. He drew his own sword, and he gritted his teeth as he brought down one man and fended off the other two. He glanced up to the watchtower to see Edmund was in a similar situation.

"Now, Ed, now! Signal the troops!" he shrieked, bringing down the other two soldiers and sprinting on to the huge wheel that would lift the gate.

"I'm a bit busy, Pete!" Edmund grunted, concentrating on his fight.

Peter reached the wheel and pushed against it, straining with all his might to turn it. Susan, Penelope and Caspian reached him just then, but hesitated helping him.

"Peter, its too late! We have to call it off while we still can!" Susan said to the back of her brother's head.

"No, I can still do this!" he snapped back. "Help me!" he added when it was still only him struggling with the gate. Caspian and Susan exchanged looks as Penelope jumped forward to help her twin. Peter, even though they were in the heat of the raid and things were just starting to go wrong, shot her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Penny," he said, just as Susan and Caspian joined them. Together, the four teenagers struggled to lift the gate up, with nothing but their grunts and strains serving as conversation, until Susan spoke.

"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" she hissed lowly. Peter's jaw wwent taught, but he chose not to acknowledge the comment. His eyes gave his sister all the answer she needed.

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Edmund's sword met that of the Telmarine soldier's, and he let out a grunt as the force of the man's attack sent his sword flying out of his hand. With the back swing of the attack, the man's sword went straight for Edmund's neck, but he ducked right in time and the only part of him the sword cut was a bit of the ends of his dark hair. While he was down, Edmund fumbled around for his weapon but instead came up with his torch. Not bothering to find the sword and without thinking, he swung the torch at the man's face, hitting him clear in the forehead and knocking him unconscious.

Edmund froze, and a slight panic set in. He held the torch up and fumbled with it, trying desperately to turn it on and cursing his own stupidity.

"Oh, no, come on..." he muttered, trying to fix the torch, knowing that the success of the plan rested on his signal. A deep feeling of dread filled him and sat at the bottom of his stomach heavily.

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Penelope struggled with the others, desperately trying to get the gate open. The whole plan would be a failure if the troops were trapped outside the castle; not to mention they could be killed. She strained her ears, listening to hear their troops, and when she couldn't shot a frantic look up at Edmund, and then saw two things at once and reacted to them very quickly.

Edmund stood on top of a turret with a look of despair capturing his features, and was fooling with his torch. A few dozen feet below him and to the left, a Telmarine soldier was loading a crossbow and aiming at Edmund. A fierce feeling of protectiveness overcame her and within half a moment her bow was out, and the arrow she'd just notched was buried in the man's stomach. He collapsed at the same moment Edmund got his torch to work, and Penelope watched as he quickly sent the signal to the still-waiting troops. Penelope breathed a sigh of relief.

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Glenstorm and the troops were growing uneasier by the second, having heard the bell tolling and still getting no sign from the royals.

"I wonder-" began Nikabrik from next to him, but he was cut off by the flashing of a light from the torch. Glenstorm reared onto his hind legs, towering over the dwarf and held his sword out.

"CHARGE!!" his fierce battle cry rang out, and soon all the other creatures' voices broke out also, and they took off at cantering paces for the castle. The army tore through the town, and as they neared the castle they came upon two guards standing in front of the almost-lowered gate. The guards, seeing the approaching army, whipped out their swords and stood at the ready. A minotaur by the name of Asterius let our a roar and sprinted ahead of the group, ramming headfirst through the iron gate separating the army from the bridge. With his head still down, he brought his huge, double sided axe into the stomach of one man and as he tore it out swung it at the other soldier, sending him over the side of the bridge. Asterius continued ahead of the army and, holding his axe over his head, ran into the courtyard. Glenstorm and Nikabrik were immediately behind him, and each let out battle cries as they met the oncoming rush of Telmarine soldiers.

Peter and the others, who had been fighting with the gate to get it open, all turned around just in time to see their army rush into the courtyard. As Peter and Caspian drew their swords, Penelope and Susan grabbed their bows and reached back for arrows. They looked fierce, grouped together in a triangle with Peter at the point, facing the enemy.

"**For Narnia!**" Peter's battle cry rang out above all other noise, and with that the triangle started forward with heads and weapons held high, merging with their army. The two opposing forces rushed into each other and met with clashes of metal upon metal.

Glenstorm took out four men with one flourish of his sword immediately and slashed his way across the courtyard, his sons following. Reepicheep and his brave little troop of mice split up among the men, slicing their ankles and finishing them off as they collapsed. Caspian was killing men like nobody's business, letting out a cry as he ran up to one man and slashed his sword right across his face. Peter was fighting in the very middle of the courtyard, surrounded by his troops, and took down any Telmarine that came within sword's reach of him. Susan was being anything but gentle with her bow and arrows, firing an arrow at one Telmarine, grabbing another arrow and stabbing a soldier in the stomach, then proceeding to throw that arrow into the heart of another approaching man.

Penelope had made her way through the mass crowd, killing two or three men as she went, and now stood on a ledge about 50 feet above the ground, a door to her back and stairs to her side. There was a small wall so one wouldn't fall over the ledge, and below her a large drain stuck out about 5 feet from the wall. It gave her the perfect advantage, for she could see everything in the courtyard. She fired arrows at any Telmarine she saw approaching her siblings and Caspian.

From somewhere above her, Penelope heard a strange rapid clacking noise, and watched in amazement as a faun leapt off the roof and landed right next to her, his powerful leg muscles working as in a heartbeat he sprang from the ledge and landed on an identical one far away from the first.

"Archers!" she heard the call faintly over the noise of the battle, and saw, much to her utter dismay, a fleet of Telmarines with crossbows file onto what appeared to be a ledge specifically designed for archers. She could hear the footsteps of the men as they took their positions on the ledge far above her, and a great panic set in. They needed to get out of that courtyard while they still could.

Penelope caught sight of Edmund, who was standing on a roof not far above the archers. She watched as he threw himself onto the slanting tiles of the roof and slid down, landing on some unfortunate Telmarine's back and knocking him down into the courtyard. Peter had apparently seen this, too, for a moment later he cried, "ED!" and Edmund turned, saw the line of soldiers now looking angrily at him, and took off for a door leading into a tower. The men started firing at him just then, but he managed to dive to the ground and get the door closed before he got hurt. Penelope sent a silent prayer to Aslan for her little brother's safety.

Penelope watched Peter as he froze and looked around as if seeing the situation for the first time. Then he started for the ledge the faun had leapt to before, his sword killing many soldiers as he went. Penelope noted that his eyes were trained on something far above him, and followed his intense gaze. It was then his plan was made obvious to her.

Asterius, the minotaur who had led the troops into battle, was jumping from structure to structure, making his way up to a large balcony Penelope could see Miraz was standing on, looking upon the battle with his lip curled back in distaste. Two men who were dressed identically stood on either side of him, along with four Telmarine soldiers. Asterius leapt, with a heavy grunt, and was on the side of the balcony. He held up a spear and aimed it at Miraz, but was stopped short in his actions by an arrow fired into his shoulder. He let out a cry and started to fall backwards, but managed to keep his hold on the railing of the balcony. The soldiers put more arrows into their crossbows but Miraz held a hand up, making them stop with confused expressions. He stepped up to the moaning creature, looked into his face, and disgustedly shoved the poor beast off the balcony. Asterius fell and smacked off a ledge, breaking through it, and hit the stone courtyard with a heavy thud. He did not move again.

Penelope then caught sight of Trumpkin, standing on the edge of a window and firing arrows down upon the enemy. He turned into the room so his back was to her for a few moments, and then she saw a Telmarine run up and club the dwarf with his shield. Penelope let out a loud wail as she watched him lifelessly fall and land on his head on the stone ground, where he didn't move. Penelope took off down the stairs, talking them two at a time in her mad dash for the dwarf. She found herself skidding to a sudden stop, however, for there, right in front of her halfway up the stairs, were three Telmarine soldiers.

"There she is!" the one who appeared to be the leader shouted, and they eagerly started up for her. With a small cry, she turned back on her heel and made for the ledge. She managed to have an arrow notched by the time the trio reached the top of the stairs, and quickly dispatched one, sending him tumbling back down to the courtyard. However, as she went to fire another arrow, she yanked the string back too hard and the most horrific sound she could possibly hear filled her ears; that of her bow snapping. She looked to see the arrow and string hanging uselessly in her hand.

Not letting her panic get to her, she thought quickly and, taking a page from Susan's book, threw the bow aside and thrust the arrow into the other man's chest. The last man, the leader, chuckled and drew his sword.

"What now, High Queen of Narnia?" he asked. Penelope reached for another arrow, planning to stab him with it, but found her quiver to be empty. Her face paled and the panic she was fighting off finally set in. The man stepped up so he too was on the ledge, backing Penelope into the wall. She saw the door from the corner of her eye and lunged for the knob, but found it to be locked. She slumped against it and stood like that for a few seconds, panting heavily, and suddenly sprang at the man, grabbing her bow from the ground and smashing the sharp pointed tip into his elbow. With a cry the man's fingers reflexively opened, and his sword fell with a clatter to the ground, and the moment it hit the ground, Penelope kicked it clear off the ledge.

_Wait a minute, I could've used that. Man I'm an idiot!_ she thought despairingly as she watched the sword soar through the air. She heard a grunt and turned just in time to see the man lunge at her, ramming into her midsection and bowling her off the ledge; but not before she'd grabbed hold of his sword belt and pulled him down with her. Their screams harmonized each other as they fell.

Penelope felt herself freefall for a moment and flailed her arms, groping madly for something to grab hold of. Her hands then met cold stone, and she wrapped her forearms around whatever it was and felt her body swing into the wall as a result of the sudden stop, and then she wasn't falling. She looked up and saw she'd managed to latch onto the drain, and scrambled her legs to try and find footing. She dare not look down.

Her luck didn't last her, for as she learned the hard way that night, drains aren't meant for holding 16 year old girls. She heard the stones cracking before she faced the consequence of it, but suddenly she found herself hurtling through the air clutching a stone to her chest as she fell.

A terrified shriek tore from her lips and echoed through the courtyard as Narnia's Savior plunged to her death.

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**REVIEW!!! :D**


	16. Chapter 15 Turning Away

*Chapter 15 Turning Away*

**OMG GUESS WHAT..THATS RIGHT,IM BACK. :D**

**i am so sorry for the terrible delay, after we moved and got the computer set up it dies(RIP) and we just got a new one last weekend! But have no fear,Gabby is now here! :P**

**Small warning,updates might not be coming as often as they were because of school starting and my buttload of homework,but im making it my personal goal to try and post every sunday!**

**Thanks for the patience and now enjoy this chapter as repayment for all your waiting! As usual..**

**ENJOY OR DIE**

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Peter brought his sword down and swiftly ended his opponent's life, wincing as blood spurted onto his clothes. Taking deep, heavy breaths, he turned to meet his next opponent, but as his eyes swept the courtyard he caught sight of Penelope standing halfway down stone stairs that led to a ledge leading to a locked door, just like the one he stood on. She was staring down the stairway with a look of frightened anticipation on her face, tightly clutching her bow in her hand. It was then Peter noticed two things at once, and he wasn't sure which one made his throat constrict and which made his stomach drop to his toes.

The first was the three Telmarine soldiers advancing up the stairs, and at the same moment he saw them she reacted and ran back up the stairs from them. The second thing was, as her back was turned to him, that her quiver only held two more arrows and that there were three men in hot pursuit of her. He could do nothing but watch, his breath growing all the more ragid with each passing second as she reached the top of the stairs, notched and fired an arrow. The man who was her target fell backwards, tumbling lifelessly down the stairs where he landed at the bottom with a dull thud. Penelope then grabbed another arrow, but this time as she rather jerkishly pulled back the loaded string to fire, her bow bent back in a way it shouldn't and the string snapped in two. Her eyes widened and she started down at the broken wood with horror, and at that moment the two remaining soldiers reached her. She paused for a moment, staring between the useless bow and the armed men , and then with catlike reflexes took the arrow and stabbed it through the man on the left's armor with a flourish. She reached back for another arrow, but froze as she realized she didn't have one.

Peter felt as if he were watching the scene as a ghost, hovering above his body and just in reach of doing something to help but not being able to. His sister dove for the door but, finding it locked, slumped against it with a deflated look on her face. Then her eyes lit up and she lurched forward, grabbing her splintered bow and digging the sharp end into the third Telmarine's elbow, causing him to drop his sword and howl in pain. The moment the sword touched the ground, Penelope kicked it clear off the ledge.

Peter swore aloud. _The git could have used that_!

Presently, the Telmarine dove at Penelope like a charging bull, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her over his shoulder and with all his might flung her off the ledge. Some way or another, she'd managed to grab hold of his sword belt, so as she fell she brought him down with her, and the whole thing looked like a grand trapeez act. The man fell a good deal quicker than she did, seeing as he was in full armor and all.

Peter watched as his twin clawed the air, looking for something to grab hold of, and her arms latched around a drain pipe sticking out of the wall some 5 feet below. He felt relief spread through him like melted butter, but it only lasted for a moment before being replaced with dreadful terror as the stones gave way beneath her weight and she plunged, shrieking. A cry echoed through the courtyard that he realized was coming from him and he felt himself fall to his knees, the mix of strong emotions coursing through him weighing him down.

There was a great screech and a flapping of wings overhead, and a brown streak blurred past him. Peter realized it was one of the gryphons the group had flown in on, and it was heading straight for his sister's falling form. In a heartbeat. it swooped and caught Penelope in its talons and placed her safely on the ledge from which she had fallen. Peter gave a cry of delight, and it was then he became aware of warmth trickling down his cheeks. But he didn't care that he, the High King of Narnia was crying. No, he was too happy for his sister to give a hoot about his infamously large ego at that particular moment.

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Penelope let out a horrified shriek as she felt her body falling through the cold night air. She found that it wasn't at all like the cliches in stories she'd heard about dying where one's life flashes before one's eyes. Instead, she found that her senses were all hyperaware, but that things seemed to be happening in slow motion. Sounds were far away, as if she were listening to them through a wall.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her waist and with a sharp jerk she was no longer falling, but going up. She glanced up to see the gryphon Purrfowan carrying her in his talons back up to the ledge.

"Are you alright, M'lady?" asked the beast as he placed her back on the ledge. Shaken, as one tends to be after nearly falling to their death, all she could manage was a bobbly nod. Then a thought came to her from earlier that night.

"Purrfowan, I need you to do me a favor," she said, turning to the gryphon as he hovered by the ledge.

"Yes?" he said.

"Fly around the castle and try to find King Edmund. I haven't seen him since he ran through a door on that turret over there," she said, indicating to the turret as she spoke.

"With a will, M'Lady," he said before screeching and soaring off between two turrets. Penelope, watching the last of his tailfeathers disappear, sent a siletn prayer to Aslan for his and Edmund's safety. She then took a moment to glance around the courtyard and saw Peter tearing across the stone, and a second later his call reached her ears.

"Fall back!! Retreat! Go on, get out of here, RETREAT!!"

They were giving up? Had the raid really gone that bad? As she stood, pondering, she saw Peter run forward with his sword held out, shouting to a galloping Glenstorm as he made his way to the gate. "Get her out of here!" he was shouting, and Penelope watched as the huge centaur lifted Susan onto his back without stopping and they got through the gate. Peter ran about, shouting at the Narnians to retreat and personally pushing the ones who didn't hear him to the gate, cutting down as many Telmarines as he could. Penelope watched him worriedly, and at that moment their eyes met.

"Penelope, go!! You need to get out of here!!" he cried, ducking as a Telmarine came at him from the right and swung for his head. Penelope watched as he brought his sword through the soldiers throat and then took off at a run down the stairs, keeping her gaze on her brother as she went.

As she reached the last of the stairs she found herself facing a Telmarine soldier who upon seeing her started chuckling. He drew his sword and started menacingly for Penelope, who backed up until she hit her leg on something.

Looking down, she saw the body of one of the soldiers whom she had shot down, her arrow protruding from his stomach, and noticed his sword lying next to him. Quickly, she grabbed it and disarmed the man, then swiflty sliced through his troat. Jumping around him as he lifelessly collapsed she looked around the courtyard again.

Narnians were coming from all areas of the courtyard and streaming to the gate like an armor clad river. Caspian and an old, squat man Penelope assumed to be the Dr. Cornelius were just bursting into the courtyard through two large oak doors, both on horseback. Caspian was leading another horse by its reigns and looking worriedly around the chaos taking place. Peter, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard directing the Narnians to the gate caught sight of them and took off at a mad run towards them. Caspian urged his horse to a brisk gallop and Dr. Cornelius followed suit.

"NOW!"

The shout rang out at the same moment Peter grabbed hold of the horse's reigns, kicked a wounded Telmarine that was struggling to his feet in the face, and used the kick to propel himself onto the horse's back. The trio made it through the gate, and then Penelope could see no more past the flood of Narnians. Then the arrows started flying, and it was then she started running harder than she had ever run before for the gate. Arrows whizzed past her, but her luck lasted and she made it to the gate without being hit. But her victorious smile dropped a thousand feet as she broke through the crowd and actually saw what was going on.

The gate was closed, and a dead minotaur laid crushed between it and the ground. The last of the mouse troop were scampering through the gap made by the body and went to join the half of the army that would be spared the massacre that was soon to take place in the courtyard. In the front line of the army stood Glenstorm and Susan, and Susan, a sad expression on her face, was rubbing the centaurs arm comfortingly. Tears were streaming freely down his noble face, and he was staring at a point to Penelope's left. Following his gaze, she saw his and Wanefeather's youngest son, Flamebolt, also trapped on this side of the gate. The young centaur gave his father a solemn nod before turning and charging into the chaos.

Penelope then noticed Peter, standing a few feet away from the drawbridge and looking back at the trapped Narnians with wide, tear filled eyes. The Narnians were shouting at him, telling him to leave them and escape, but still he remained frozen in place. Then he saw Penelope.

The twins locked eyes, Peter's expression sickened and shocked and Penelope's calm and resigned. Peter turned his horse back toward the castle.

"No, Peter!" Penelope called. She was unaware of the semi circle the Narnians were forming around her, protection their Queen from the oncoming arrows with their own bodies. Peter hesitated, staring at her through glazed blue eyes.

"Narnia needs you. You have to go." she said gently. "Besides, there's nothing you can do to help us. You might as well get to safety instead of dying in a stupid act of heroism."

Peter was shaking his head, and he urged his horse forward; towards his sister and certain death.

"Stop, Peter. Don't be foolish." she said, her voice harder this time. But still he came for her, and behind him the drawbridge was being drawn, a fact Reepicheep also noticed.

"Peter, the bridge!" he cheeped, his voice going higher than usual. Peter frantically looked back at the bridge, then his sister, then the bridge again. His horse fidgeted anxiously.

"Please go. Go for me." Penelope said, pleading with her eyes. But Peter was looking at something behind her, angry desperation written on his face.

Penelope felt hands grab each of her arms, and she looked behind her to see two more Telmarine soldiers, hardly any older than herself, grabbing her and pulling her away from the gate. There were no other Narnians alive at the gate.

Struggling with all her might, she turned back to see Peter still standing there, tears pouring down his face. A tear escaped her own eye as she finally said what she'd been meaning to.

"I'm so sorry for our fight. I love you, Peter, and I'm proud to call you my twin."

Then, out of nowhere, she felt a sharp, agonizing pain tear into her side, and looked down to see the soldier on her right burying a dagger in her side at the point of her waist. An ear piercing scream escaped her as the soldier twisted it, and she slumped in the men's arms. The pain consumed her to the point where all she could see, think, and hear was pain, but she did not lose consciousness. Barely, through her ringing ears, she heard hoof beats and barely managed to turn her head and see Peter's horse leap over the bridge. Vaguely through the burning, mindnumbing pain Penelope felt relief. At least no matter what tortures befell her she would know that her brother survived.

Not being able to move, and feeling too desperate to fight, Penelope allowed herself to be dragged along, her head lolling around to the side. She was aware of the dead silence, pounding pounding on her ears and driving her mad. Glancing around, she saw dead Narnians and dead Telmarines piled on top of each other. Their bodies completely covered the courtyard, their blood running together and soaking the stones. It was a horrifying sight, and made Penelope's stomach churn with both illness and grief.

Suddenly the sound of flapping wings came from overhead, and rolling her head back she saw Purrfowan flying 20 feet above the courtyard with Edmund on his back. Both of them were looking down upon the hundreds of dead bodies with stricken bewilderment.

Using all the energy she had left, Penelope opened her mouth and let out a gurgling cry. In response the 2 Telmarine men shoved her head back down and gave her a punch to the eye that caught her nose, and with a sickening crunch Penelope felt an explosion of pain across her face. As she cried out, she felt warm blood trickle down into her mouth. The taste of it nearly mad her wretch, but she miraculously kept it down.

And then, before them were Purrfowan and Edmund, hovering above the ground just in front of the three. Edmund's usually impassive expression was livid. With an angry screech, the gryphon brought both its front paws up and sliced through either Telmarine's throat with its talons. The now dead men fell away from Penelope, but not being able to hold herself up she collapsed with them. Luckily, Purrfowan caught her at the last second around her torso.

The last thing Penelope knew was the sensation of her feet leaving the ground before she slipped away in a dead faint.

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**ooooooo juicy stuff right there! Psst, and you thought I was just going to kill her off willy nilly! :P**

**well, what'd you think? Please review and give me your thoughts! Remember-reviews equal a happy Gabby! :D**

**P.S.- For anyone who can correctly guess where I got the name of this chapter, you will get your own cameo appearance in an upcoming chapter! Just message me your answer or put it in a review and first one to get it gets to design their own charecter to join the craziness! Feel free to message me your answer, I check my email every day and always reply to pm's.**

**I'll give you a hint- It's the name of a scene in one of the favorite movies I have listed in on my profile.**

**GOOD LUCK!**

**Yours,**

**Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper :D**


	17. Chapter 16 The Patronus

*Chapter 15 The Patronus*

**Hey howdy hey! Heres yet another chapter in my story! We're starting to get to the action and main plot now! :D**

**Hope everyone had a fantabulous week! I know i did! kinda..lolz.**

**Special shoutout to all who reviewed and to Princess Lucy,who created the new charecter thats making her first appearance in this chapter! Thanks for the help and inspiration! This one goes to you,hun! :)**

**My bestest friend ever,Lauren says 'HAY YALL' Aint no party like a party between 2 southern white girls,'re lame xD**

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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The half of the army that was left from the raid marched back to the How in a solemn silence, the setting sun casting their shadows many feet before them on the ground. At the front of the procession were Peter and Caspian, but each was pretending the other wasn't there. Indeed, they were both very angry about the events of the raid, and were both writhing in the guilt they felt squeezing their chests tight. They knew that they had messed up, in Caspian's case by changing the plans around on more than one occasion to his convenience and in Peter's by not calling the whole failed thing off sooner. Both had been ego-fueled acts of selfishness, and the two boys knew it. But as aware of their own guilts as they were, they were both hyperaware of the other's, and were choosing to blame him more. It was low, but was helping them deal with their own guilty consciences.

As the army broke through the last trees in the forest they came onto a particularly rugged hill. Peter, who was so engrossed in his thoughts, wasn't paying attention to the ground and tripped over a loose stone, falling face first into the ground. Reepicheep and his troops scampered up to him and gathered in a concerned semi-circle by his side.

A sob escaped him, a loud sob reeking with desperation. Not because he fell, oh heavens no. He was High King of Narnia-he could handle a little fall. But as he landed particularly hard, he fully felt the events of the night crash down upon him. All those innocent Narnians, trapped, slaughtered because of him. He, their leader, had let them down and cost them their lives. It was no different than if he would have been one of the archers, a crossbow in his hands and his arrow tearing into a Narnian's flesh. The thought sickened him to the point of him actually retching a little in his mouth.

Another, more haunting image filled his mind: that of his sister, Penelope, trapped behind the gate and beaconing to him to on and leave her behind. Her blue eyes had been calm and resigned; she knew she was going to die and was accepting the fact with a brave face. Tears streamed from Peter's own blue pools as he relived the moment of seeing her break through the crowded Narnians, her face changing in a flash from horrified to stoic. His ears rang heavily with her voice, urging him onward.

"There's nothing you can do, you might as well get away safely. Peter, I'm sorry for our fight. I love you so much, and I'm glad that you're my brother."

She had died because of him. His stupidity and huge ego had killed his twin sister. It was as if the hole in him had reopened, spreading to his heart and tearing huge chunks from it that he was now sobbing from his body. The pain was everywhere, spreading and gaining strength like a wildfire. He felt paralyzed with the burning pain consuming him.

Peter felt a hand on his shoulder and brought his tearstained face up to see Susan kneeling down next to him. Tears were welling in her own eyes as she looked down upon her strong, brave brother-now lying broken and crumbled on the ground.

"Come on, Peter." she said quietly, tugging his arm gently to get him up. "We need to get back to the How."

"Why?" he mumbled blankly.

"Because Lucy's there waiting for us to come back. And you don't want to keep her waiting, do you? You know Lucy, she's probably beside herself with worry right now." Susan replied patiently, again tugging his arm.

Peter looked deep in thought for a moment, then sprang to his feet. He had already killed his twin sister-why should he upset his favorite on, also? So it was with that thought in his head that he got up and took off at a furious pace for the How. Susan stood, looking utterly confused and slightly affronted, and at that moment Caspian came to her side, a slight sneer on his face.

"What has gotten his knickers in a wad?" he asked lowly, staring after Peter's quickly retreating form and still sneering. Susan's expression changed from irritated to stricken in a heartbeat, and she covered her face with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. When she opened them again, they were glistening with unshed tears.

"He's upset because of Penelope," she whispered softly as she began walking again. Caspian's brow furrowed slightly.

"What about her?" he asked perhaps a bit too sharply. Susan glanced sideways at him as she gathered her skirts and leapt over a large tree root that was blocking her path. However, she did not meet his eyes as she spoke next.

"Didn't you notice? She.. she didn't make it back from the castle." Susan said, choking on the words and having to pause. Caspian's cocky expression shattered into one of utter horror.

"What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely.

Susan spoke to him without looking up from her feet, fighting the tears and losing terribly. "She didn't make it to the gate in time, and by the time she got there it was too late. I saw it. She was dragged away by two Telmarines. One of them.. s-stabbed her..." and she trailed off, biting her lip.

Caspian froze in place, his spine rigid and his face bone white. His eyes were bulging and glassy and he was clenching and unclenching his fists furiously.

"Y-you mean-is-is she-?" he stuttered bluntly, not being able to wrap his mind around the thought.

Susan didn't respond, for she was too consumed by grief to talk. She looked up at Caspian as tears began brimming over her crystal blue eyes and quickly brought a hand to cover her face. She started off again, going almost as fast as Peter had moments ago, muffled sobs shaking her delicate frame.

But Caspian remained rooted to the spot, his tan complexion milky white in his horrified shock. Penelope? Dead? His mind just couldn't work the two together, they were so wrong to him. He found his thoughts were jumbling around together, buzzing around in his head like a swarm of vengeful bumblebees. He had never gotten to tell her how he thought his feelings for her were more than comradity at this point. How could this have happened to her? What had Penelope ever done to deserve this fate?

What about her prophecy? What would become of Narnia now that their savior was dead? Caspian felt cold despair wash over him, leaving him chilled to the bone and shivering slightly. For he knew that their prophecies went hand-in-hand, and therefore he had no chance of fulfilling his if she was no longer around to carry out hers. How could something so terrible happen to the innocent Narnians, who had been forced to hide in trees for well over one thousand years.

A face flashed through his mind, a face that at first tore at his heart until he realized who it really was. Peter. It was _his_ fault the Narnians' days were now numbered, ticking slowly by until they faced their ultimate extinction at the hands of the Telmarines. The unbelievable, intolerable acts of the huge-headed King had damned his own twin to an inconceivable fate.

Drawing himself to his full impending height, Caspian tore off, shoving his way through the crowd. He had a few sharp thoughts he was aching to share with the traitorous murderer that was the only relic left of the young prince's first love.

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Peter was among the first to cover the large hill and make it to the field where the How stood, looking solemn and ancient in the fading light of the sun. The moment his lone figure came into the arena like form that stood in front of the How, a faun that was on guard blew a horn, signaling the group had returned. As he approached the entrance to the How, he saw Lucy come sprinting out of the How and stop by Trufflehunter the badger, her brows furrowed tightly over concerned blue eyes. He saw her gaze flicker behind him and her expression took on a sickly greenish complexion of horror. He glanced over his shoulder to see what was left of the army slowly making their way back to the How. Even from here, Peter could see their tired, somber faces. Caspian, who was at the head of the bunch and closely behind Peter, had a mixture of anger and heartbreak on his face and was clearly deep in thought.

"What happened?" came Lucy's weak voice. Peter turned back to her with a darkened expression.

"Ask him," he growled, jerking his chin in Caspian's direction. The prince was snapped out of his thoughts and looked up with a mildly shocked expression on his face.

"Me?" he asked uncertainly, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Peter," Susan, who had just arrived on the scene, said in a warning tone.

"You could have called it off, there was still time," Caspian was saying. Peter rounded on him in full and replied in a voice that sounded close to tears.

"No there wasn't, thanks to you. If you'd kept to the plan like I said, those soldiers might be alive right now."

"And if we had just stayed here, like I suggested, then they definitely would be!" Caspian shouted.

"_You _called _ us_, remember?!" Peter hissed.

There was a deadly pause and then Caspian, breathing heavily, said in a low voice, "My first mistake."

Peter turned to walk away, but turned just enough so Caspian could hear his casually delivered insult. "No," he said with a humorless snigger. "Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people."

"HEY!" Caspian barked. Peter spun on his heel to face him, his blue eyes narrowed into slits. "I am not the one who abandoned Narnia."

By this point, the entire raid party had reached the entrance to the How. They wore similar dark expressions as they watched their two adolescent leaders hurl accusations at each other, rather feeling like they were walking in on a very private conversation.

"You invaded Narnia. You have NO MORE right to lead than Miraz does! You, him, your father-" at this point Caspian, who had shoved past Peter and was storming away, froze in his tracks, the blood draining from his face. "-Narnia's better off without the lot of you!"

Caspian's face screwed up into a horrible expression and he whipped around, his hand flying threateningly to his sword.

"AT LEAST I DID NOT MURDER MY OWN TWIN!!"

All the murmuring that had begun ceased at that moment. Susan's hands flew to her face and fresh tears sprung in her eyes. Lucy let out a small cry.

"What's he talking about, Peter?!" she whispered brokenly.

"Yes, Peter, why don't you tell her what I am talking about?" Caspian said coldly, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Peter was standing rooted to the spot, his back ramrod straight. His eyes were big as saucers and jumped out against his bone white face. A closer look would reveal him to be trembling from head to foot.

His sisters recognized this look, for they had seen it only once before- when Edmund had been stabbed by the White Witch in order to get to Peter and at deaths door before Lucy saved him with her miracle elixir.

"Penelope.." he whispered brokenly, and again the image of her, trapped and resolved with the other unfortunate Narnians flashed before him. The hole inside him throbbed achingly.

Caspian was giving him a victorious look which was slightly marred by anger. It was this look that Peter turned back to, and what sent him over the edge. With a wild cry he drew his sword, aiming to take the Prince's head clean off and was made even angrier when his sword met that of Caspian.

A bloodcurdling screech filled the air that was still echoing with the clang of their two swords, drawing the two royals out of their testosterone-fueled face off. They looked to Susan, the source of the sound, just in time to see her collapse, sobs raking her whole body. Peter made to rush to her side, but froze as he saw what the cause of her outburst was.

A gryphon was just landing in the middle of the crowd of Narnians. Peter instantly recognized this as the gryphon who had saved Penelope as she'd fallen from the ledge back in the courtyard; a memory that brought burning tears to his eyes. On the great beast's back was Edmund, who looked pale and anxious as he leaned forward to the point of flipping forward off the gryphon. But the beast had not landed, instead, it was hovering about a foot off the ground. Peter instantly saw the cause of this: in its front talons it was clutching the limp body of a girl who's blonde head was lolling dangerously from side to side.

Before he could react, a whole swarm of Narnians were crowded around the new arrivals and raising an absolute panic. For a second the swarm obscured them from view, but after a moment a centaur broke through the crowd with the girl in his arms. Sobbing and shrieks broke through the pounding in Peter's ears, and he watched Edmund jump from the gryphon's back, running forward and grabbing one of the hands that swung limply along with the movements of the centaur. Peter saw, for the first time in a very long time, tears streaming down his brother's face. Then he came to life and sprinted forward, shoving past Narnian after Narnian until he reached them.

Penelope's face was ashen and slightly gray, the usual rosy tint she had to her cheeks gone without a trace. Her eyes were closed, and he thin lids were blue. On her left eye was a deeply purple bruise that spread to the side of her nose. This, which was once perfectly straight, was now bent horribly to the side and highly swollen. Dried blood ran from her nostrils and was caked on her lips and chin. The dagger was still sticking out of her side, and the tear in her dress from where it had entered revealed swollen and puckering skin that was a violent shade of red.

Peter felt someone brush past him and looked down to see Lucy making her way forward. In her hand was her lifesaving cordial filled with the precious Juice of the Fireflower. This, along with her small steel dagger, had been her gifts from Father Christmas during their previous trip to Narnia. It had saved many lives before, including Edmund's.

Caspian shoved past Peter at that moment and marched straight up to the young centaur, and showing surprising care pulled Penelope out of his grasp, placing her on the ground and cradling her head in his lap. Behind him, Susan sobbed harder than ever.

Lucy, with tears streaming down her face, uncorked the vial and leaned over her older sister with her ear to her chest. At the same time Edmund slid the dagger out of his sister, causing more blood to flow. Everyone present was aware of how rapidly her face was graying. Lucy stayed with her head to her chest for a moment, then abruptly shot up and poured a decent sized drop into Penelope's slightly opened mouth. At this point Peter, too was leaning down beside her, clutching the hand that Edmund was not.

There were several agonizing moments where nothing happened and then two things happened at once.

The first was that Penelope stirred and coughed slightly, wincing as with a soft, painful crunching her nose relocated itself. The hole in her side closed and the skin returned back to its normal colour. The second caused her to let out a loud shriek of shock. For right behind Peter where there had a moment ago been nothing with a loud, echoing 'CRACK!' a young woman had appeared out of thin air.

The Narnians all jumped about a foot back, but moved back in an instant, for she was arguably the most beautiful woman they had ever laid eyes upon.

She was tall, only about an inch shorter than Caspian, and carried herself with the air of one who was born a blue blood-that is to say, a purebred royal. She had a halo of long, frosty blue hair that fell to her tiny waist and framed a well sculpted heartshaped face. Her lips were full and her nose perfectly straight and buttonish. But the most striking feature of her face were her scorching lavender coloured eyes, set under thin, arched brows. She was extremely pale, and wearing a brown leather bodice and knee length shorts of what appeared to be leaves and ankle height boots that flared out at the tops.

A hush came over the crowd as, with such fluidity and grace the Naiids would be jealous, the strange woman brushed Peter over to the side and took his place next Penelope, who was staring open-mouthed up at her. Then, pulling herself into a sitting position and still staring, she grabbed hold of the woman's forearms.

"Iredescent?!" she whispered in disbelief.

The woman flashed a stunning crooked grin down at her and spoke in a smooth, rich voice. "Hello, little one,"

Caspian, who had just found himself to be drooling slightly, asked the question all the males were dying to know the answer to. "Who are you?"

Turning her head so that her silky hair caught the sunlight, her smile turned into a full fledged grin as she her gaze locked with the handsome prince's.

"My name is Iredescent. I am Queen Penelope's Patronus."

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**Wow, that was an aweful chapter. Feel free to flame it.**

**Stay with me folks! I promise we're getting somewhere now! :D**

**Best wishes,**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper :D**


	18. Chapter 17 The Patronus and the Tale

*Chapter 16-The Patronus and the Tale*

**Hello everyone! I'm back! So sorry for the poofing, school is a lot harder than I figured it would be and I haven't found time to update :( But now we're on fall break for a week, so I plan on updating a lot :D**

**As usual, I thank all who reviewed my previous chapter, confusing though it was. The random new character was necessary for the development of the plot. **

**Special huge shoutout goes out to my totally awesome fanfic friend, imprintedjet09!! I love you crocodile hunter! *insert secret handshake here* Everyone go read her story 'The Golden Age: A Second Generation' it's the bomb-diggity yo! lol xD**

**Without further interruptions, here's the next chapter of The King and Queen of New! As always, ENJOY OR DIE**

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A thick silence enveloped the clearing, broken only by Susan's staggered breathing. Edmund was the first to speak after the introduction.

"Patronus?" he asked, scrunching up his face as though the unfamiliar word had an awful taste. Iridescent offered only a short nod as an answer.

"It's Latin for protector." came Susan's ragged voice.

"So you mean you're her.. protector?" Peter asked uncertainly. This seemed strange, even for Narnia. He had never heard of a Patronus, not in Narnia or any other world he'd visited.

"Yeah, that's what I said, isn't it?" Iridescent snipped, suddenly sounding like a sassy 8 year old who got caught sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar and was being forced to explain it to both parents. It took Peter aback to be spoken to like that from someone that wasn't Lucy.

"What does a Patronus do?" asked Edmund, again making the face as if rotten centaur dung was being waved under his nose.

Iridescent shook her head some before tucking her hair being her ear, drawing attention to the abnormally pointed tips. "The job is in the name. I am Penelope's Patronus, or Protector. My job is to guard her, even at the cost of my own life, and make sure she fulfills her prophecy."

Penelope turned to Edmund, looking as eager as a young child on Christmas morning when they realize all the biggest presents are theirs. "Iridescent is the elf I told you about who helped to raise me until she was kidnapped and married to that Telmarine." she said, the words tumbling out in a rush. Then she frowned and turned back to the elf. "What are you doing here?"

The Elvin lady's smile slid from her face for a mere moment before she caught it and plastered it back onto her face; only this time, it failed to reach her eyes.

"Well I heard that your brother's plans had gone terribly wrong and you were one of the victims, so naturally I came as quickly as I could." she said, throwing Peter a dark look.

Penelope frowned. "I wasn't a victim, it was my own fault I didn't make it to the gate in time," she said bluntly. "And anyways, that's not exactly what I wanted to know. What are you doing away from your husband? I thought you said you two were leaving for Telmar to live there?"

Iridescent sighed deeply, rubbing her temples with her two forefingers. "You haven't changed a bit, Penelope. You're still the same over observant little thing I remember you being." Penelope looked affronted, and she chuckled lightly. "Just as sensitive too, I see."

"I am not!" Penelope snapped, her face growing red as she frowned indignantly. Iridescent threw her head back as a tinkling laugh filled the air, drawing admiring breaths from the men and envious glares from the women. Even Penelope, who had grown up and been raised by the elf, found herself casting a very lovestruck Caspian a furious stare and wishing she would shut up.

"I see also that your stubborn nature has not yet left you either." Iridescent said, again shaking her head and sending rays of sunlight reflected everywhere. The men were so entranced they were gradually edging closer to her without realizing it. Again, Penelope wished she would stop, as Caspian was in the front of the group.

"Yeah, some queen she'll make.." came a dark voice from the edge of the group. Iridescent's head whipped around and the Narnian's followed suit, their gazes coming to rest on Nikabrik. It was at that moment Penelope, whose face was as red as a ripe tomato, realized how evil the dwarf really looked.

Iridescent was on her feet and, so quickly if you had blinked you would have missed it, had crossed the distance between her and the dwarf and was towering over him. Her lovely face was twisted in rage, her fists were clenched and her eyes were gleaming in anger.

"You dare to insult the Savior of Narnia?!" she bellowed in a voice that echoed and cause Lucy to flinch and cover her ears. "She, who has given so much already in her young life for the sake of you and your people?"

Nikabrik was staring up at her in challenge. "Do you realize how much _I've_ had to give up for her? Of course not! It's all about Penelope! Penelope this, Penelope that! Let's all bend over backwards to make sure everything _Penelope_ wants is perfect for_ Penelope_!!"

By this time, Iridescent wasn't the only one on her feet. Caspian, Trufflehunter, Peter, Edmund, and a good dozen or so Narnians, including tiny Reepicheep and Glenstorm, were on their feet and ready to have a go at the black dwarf. Penelope, however, still sat, glaring coldly at him with tears brimming her eyes.

"I could always tell you had a problem with me." she said in a quiet, level voice, quite contrasting those who had spoken previously. Nikabrik turned his beady black eyes to his former ward, his scowl remaining but changing from that of anger to disapproval.

"It's not you, I suppose. I mean, you've been at least decent to have around. You helped around the hut, so I guess I don't have a problem with you personally."

Iridescent lurched forward with a snarl. Edmund willingly jumped after her, throwing his arms around her waist and pulling her back a little too happily. She hardly put up a struggle, she was so busy glaring at Nikabrik and shouting.

"Wretch! You little lying wretch! How dare you tell such a degrading, bold-faced half truth to your future queen?!" her voice sounded on the verge of hysterics she was so infuriated. "GET BACK HERE!!" for Nikabrik had turned his back to her and started for the How, angrily kicking stones on his way. The group stared disbelievingly after him, sitting in a stunned silence until he was consumed by the shadows of the entrance.

"That conniving little-" Lucy started angrily, sounding shocked and angry, but a stern look from Susan stopped her midsentence. Lucy looked abashed, but continued grumbling under her breath, angrily drawing her cordial and moving along the line of mortally wounded, which included Trumpkin the dwarf.

Penelope, noticing Nikabrik's exit had done nothing to calm Iridescent, decided to change the subject back to her still unanswered question.

"Iridescent," she said, drawing her attention. "Why have you come?"

The elf's expression softened considerably, and she took her ward's hands in her own. "I heard you were dying, Penelope."

"How?" Penelope asked, her brow furrowing ass he looked up at Iridescent, who was a good deal taller than herself even sitting down.

"I am your Patronus, it is my gift to know all about you." she answered.

Irritation bubbled in Penelope's chest. The conversation just kept going in circles, and she wanted answers, for Aslan's sake! "But _how_?"

Iridescent sighed and ran a long, thin hand through her hair. "This is a long, long story. I suppose it would be easiest to start at the very beginning." she said, although it sounded aimed more to herself than to her audience. He hands went to her hips and she looked up into the baby blue Narnian sky. After a moment of standing like this, she abruptly dropped to the ground, crossing her legs Indian-style. Penelope stared down at her in confusion and she motioned for her to follow suit, shielding her eyes against the glaring sun as she did so.

"It's a long story, you might as well get comfortable." she said. With a confused glance around the group, Penelope gathered her skirts about her legs and kneeled down into a sitting position in front of her elvin friend.

"You all too, you'll want to hear this too, and I'm not likely to tell it again." Iridescent said somewhat forcefully to everyone else. With a great clanking of armor, metals, and weapons, the raid party had settled themselves and were eagerly leaning forward to better hear what the elf had to say.

"Alright, so you're starting at the beginning?" Penelope asked as Peter and Caspian took the seats at her sides. Iridescent stared thoughtfully back and forth between the twins as she gained her train of thoughts.

Then, with a deep breath, she began her tail.

"It started over 1300 years ago," she said. "I was still very young, and very naive. I lived with my family in our home village of Aidar. I was rebellious and was starting to act out against my parents. Well one day I got into a bad fight with my parents over something, I can't even remember what, I did. Now in our particular village, when something happened between a family it became the whole town's business. So once everyone else found out, the entire town started treating me like a common delinquent-that is to say, they completely ignored me and only acknowledged my presence to spit at me as I passed. It got so bad I couldn't take it anymore and so I packed everything I had to my name, snuck out in the dead of night, and ran away."

She paused at this point and an expression overcame her features that can best be described as mournfully recollective. After a moment she shook herself off and continued. "Our village was in a valley between two mountains in a range somewhere, as I remember, in the northwest. So as I got out of the valley, I found myself climbing the tallest of the 2 mountains and the higher up I got, the colder it got and pretty soon I found myself in the middle of a full-fledged snowstorm. Up until then, the game had been pretty easy to find and I had not had to break into what I had brought from home, but obviously that changed as it started snowing. So I had only brought about enough for a week, but thank Aslan for me, it only took me just that to get over the peak of the mountain. Then things started to get harder for me-I ran out of food and was stuck in the middle of a snowstorm worthy of the White Witch. I told myself that if I went ahead and tackled the rest of the higher-altitude part of the mountain I would be a lot better off. So I took off at the top speed I could go-which was a lot slower than I can go now but still faster than a cheetah-and I'll say I made the journey in about 2 days. I found a nice little cave now that I was in the warmer region and scoured for food, considering I was about ready to die from exhaustion and starvation. There I planned to wait an rest until I got better.

"Now this is where the story picks up." she said, causing those assembled to shift forward in their places. "One night I was out hunting with my bow and arrow, when-far below me at the basin of the mountain, I saw a firelight surrounded by what appeared to be 2 very large, oddly shaped boulders, each with smaller boulders connected to them, eerily similar in shape and contour although I didn't at first notice or acknowledge this. Figuring, in my worn and delirious state, that it was the light of an elvin camp that would come to my rescue, I put an enchantment on an arrow so that when it hit its target it would issue red sparks and explode-a sign of utmost distress to elves, I shot it off and watched as it launched, fizzing furiously, down into the valley. It embedded itself into the side of the boulder nearest to me, and exploded with a loud BANG and a great mess of what could be called fireworks. Suddenly, as the arrow burst into flames, the smaller boulder connected to the one I'd hit lifted from the ground and, turning to the explosion, gave a tremendous roar that shook the ground, and as it came into the light I saw the boulder was in fact a head- the head of a giant. A very angry giant. The other boulder, which was also a giant, stirred and angrily smacked its howling companion, mad about being woken up. This made the first one jump up in a flurry, right near causing an avalanche, and the second one followed suit. The first one, my arrow still fizzing in his side, punched the other one right in his face, and the other started wailing like a banshee. I swear, giants are the dumbest creatures.. Anyways, after a minute or so of hopping up and down and clutching his face, the second giant pushed the first hard and he came flying back at my mountain-he was about the same size as it-and fell backwards into it. The mountain caved in on itself at the impact."

A gasp rippled through the Narnians. Penelope's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened in horror. Iridescent smiled sardonically, clearly torn between enjoying the reactions and the painfulness of the memory, both literally and figuratively.

"I made to run for the cave as I saw the great brute coming at me, but I think that was the dumbest thing I could have done. The roof caved in on me as the mountain collapsed on itself from the top down, so I got the brunt of the top of the mountain. The weight of the accumulating wreckage knocked the floor of the cave in, and the last thing I can remember of being conscious that night was freefalling before I got hit over the top of the head with a rock and fainted.

"Suddenly, a strong smell I still haven't figured out how to describe or forgotten filled my nostrils, and light poured through my eyelids. I roused myself and found I was in a meadow surrounded by the tallest trees I'd ever seen, which bore delicious looking fruits I had never seen and was dying to try. As I continued scoping out the land, I found that I wasn't alone. Indeed, sitting across from me, separated by a small stream, was a magnificent lion the size of a small elephant. But it wasn't just any lion, it was-"

"Aslan," said Penelope and Peter at the same time, Peter in a tone of a student answering a question no one else knew the answer to and Penelope in the tone of a God-fearing Sunday school student. Iridescent looked at them affectionately. At some point during the story, Penelope had rested her head on Peter's shoulder and he had wrapped his arm securely around her.

"Yes. Well I knew I should have scared, but I just wasn't. So I stood up and approached him, staring into his beautiful eyes as I went until I was right at the edge of the stream opposite him. Then I sat down and for a while we just stared at each other in silence. The I spoke-

***AN-words in italics are words spoken during the flashback :)***

_" 'Am I dead?' _ I asked, and to my surprise the lion chuckled.

_" 'Why is that the first assumption you would make?' _ he asked.

_" 'Well it just seems like I ought to be, seeing how wonderful of a place this is.'_ I said, indicating around me at the meadow. The lion's face grew serious.

_" 'You're right, my dear. But don't fret, you are not dead. At least not yet,' _he said, and I'm sure I must have looked petrified because he carried on. _'I have called you here and am choosing to spare your life if you will do as I ask you.'_

_" 'Of course,'_ I said, obviously. It's not like I wanted to die.

" '_Somewhere far beyond your village, there is a land called Narnia. In this land, an evil witch has caused a perpetual winter to befall the good Narnians. It has been foretold that 4 children will appear and defeat this witch, restoring peace to the land. Far away, in a different world on this night the first of these four has been born, and a twin sister is soon to follow. I, who know all things past, present, and future, know that this girl will be, in the far future, the savior of Narnia and her allies. This is where you come in, dear one,'_ as he spoke, he held his huge paw out to me and I saw, sitting in the middle of the pad, a golden necklace with the pendant of a roaring lion rearing on its hind legs.

_" 'How?'_ I asked, staring longingly at the necklace. I was, at this point, generally curious. I had, of course, heard of Narnia and her perpetual winter. Who were these twins? Who was this all-knowing lion? How was I connected to any of the three?

_" 'With this.'_ he said, indicating for me to take the necklace. I did, and as I put it on he elaborated. _'With this, you will go to the world of the twins and, without being seen or causing any harm or disruption to anyone or anything, recover the little girl and bring her back to me.'_

_" 'Oh, but what of her mother and her brother? Surely this cannot be the right thing to do?'_ I said, horrified.

_" 'I know this sounds immoral and wrong, but it is right. Trust me. The twins will meet again someday.'_ said the lion, his eyes taking on a somber look. And as I watched him, I knew in my heart what I had to do. I had to take the girl.

_" 'I will do it.'_ I said. The lion smiled at me warmly.

_" 'I knew you would. This is why I chose you for the task. You, Iridescent, will be favored above all others. Have faith in me and be strong, as is your nature. Now, take the necklace in your hand and think strongly of what I have told you about where you need to go.'_

" I did as I was told. Pulling myself into a standing position, the world around me started to swirl together and I started spinning. It was the strangest feeling-it felt as though I was being jerked upwards and spinning at the same time. I don't know how long this carried on-a few seconds, a few minutes, a few hours- but suddenly I was standing in a room like that which I had never been in. It was square with chairs made of fine material used for dresses and had yellow walls and a wooden floor. There was a large, open window on one wall, and under this was a crib with two tiny bundles of blankets lying in the center of it. I approached and found two sleeping babies that looked exactly alike-Peter and Penelope."

"I could at a glance tell which was Penelope; she was the smaller one on the right that was sleeping with her tiny fist crammed in her mouth and was twitching. Peter was on his stomach, drooling and making little cooing noises as he slept. They both had tiny tufts of white blond hair on the tops of their heads and both of their noses were bright pink from the breeze in the window. You," she said, looking at the twins, "were absolutely adorable. I wanted to take both of you and keep you, but I knew I couldn't."

She sighed mournfully, then continued. "As I stood staring down at you two, I heard voices outside the door, and quickly grabbed Penelope, accidently nudging Peter in the process. He woke up and stared up at me uncomprehendingly until he saw that I had Penelope. He made a sad face and reached an arm up from the blankets, grasping for her and wimpering. It was the most heartbreaking thing I'd ever seen," Iridescent's voice had quieted considerably, and her eyes had glazed over. Penelope looked up at Peter sadly, and he squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

"So, as he voices grew nearer, I hastily put a sleeping spell on Peter, grabbed the necklace and felt the same spinning jerk upward right as the door burst open. Penelope started wailing right as we landed in the meadow again, and I was greeted by a somber looking lion.

_" 'Well done, Iridescent.' _he said, and proceeded to take the babe from my arms and laid her gently down next to the stream. I watched precariously.

" '_What are you doing?'_ I asked curiously, watching as he took a single lap of water from the stream an brought his tongue across her forehead. She immediately stopped crying, and at a closer look I saw she had stopped breathing.

" '_What have you done?!'_ I screeched in alarm, thinking she was dead and having mental pictures of her brother reaching out to her in distress. The lion calmly looked up at me.

" '_Calm yourself, dear one. It is not what you think.'_

" '_Then what is it??' _I demanded, staring at the limp bundle of blankets.

" '_I have put her under an enchantment. This is the Stream of Life, and as its name suggests its waters give you everlasting life. In addition to this, I have put her under a spell where she is not alive and not dead, but suspended between the two. As long as she remains in My Country, which is where we are now, she will remain under this enchantment. And she will remain in My Country until the time comes where she will be needed to fulfill her prophecy. And when that time comes, dear one, you will take her to Narnia.'_

"I was considerably calmed by this. And so, we waited. There came a point, a few years later, where Aslan had to go to Narnia from his Country to help the Four defeat the White Witch and save Narnia, but then he came back and we waited. Time passed very quickly for us, and all the while the baby slept. Eventually, and it felt like no time had passed at all, came the moment I had to take Penelope to Narnia.

_" 'Lay her under the great oak that you appear under when you get to that world. She will be found by a happy group of Narnians who will raise her well. But I want you to stay in that world and, after a period of 8 years have passed, appear to offer your help in raising Penelope. I want you to stay with her until I further instruct you.'_ he said.

" '_Will I see you again?'_ I asked. He smiled sadly.

_" 'One day in the future. But make sure your only priority is Penelope. You are her Patronus, and there will come a time where her life rests in your hands.'_

"I wrapped my arms around his neck, ignoring the fact that I couldn't reach all the way around to make my fingers touch, and then, gathering up Penelope, I took my necklace in my hand and found myself in a dark, freezing cold forest. I was standing under a great oak tree, just as Aslan had said I would be, and I gently laid Penelope at the foot of the tree, wrapping her up tightly in her blankets so she would be as warm as possible. I noticed, as I pulled away from her and prepared to leave, that she was now awake, and as I took off into the trees she began to wail. I stayed watch as the dwarf and the badger collected her and took off into the night, and the rest of the story I'm sure you all are enlightened on. When I had to appear to help raise Penelope, I did. When I left her because I was supposedly abducted, I went back to Aslan for further instruction and waited with him, watching to make sure she was safe from a distance up until about 2 hours ago."

Drawing a deep breath, she concluded, "And that is the tale of the Savior of Narnia and her Patronus."

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**Longest chapter yet! Wootwoot! Sorry for the lack of action yall, but that chapter was necessary. Coming up there we'll be getting to the duel and then something surprisings gonna happen. :)**

**As always, please review! I spent like 5 hours working on typing that and even longer brainstorming. I will admit, I was overcome with a terrible case of the dreaded writer's block *cue flash of lightening and dramatic music* Buuuuut I'm cured now, due to the lovely imprintedjet09 :D**

**By the way, I'm cleaned out for my signed scarfless Tumnus pics-imprintedjet09 stole them all. lol xD**

**NOW ? :D**

**Best wishes,**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper**


	19. Chapter 18 Closeur and Confrontations

*Chapter 18-Closeur and Confrontations*

**Hey everyone! As promised, here's another chapter in my fanfic, The King and Queen of New!**

**Sorry if it's kinda crappy, I'm winging it here as it's my last day to update and haven't finished the outline of this chapter. So excuse any poopiness! :P**

**Just to let you guys know, I'm going to soon be putting up links to original drawings for this story I've been working on! Once I get them up, go check them out and tell me what you think!**

**I've just realized that I've been completely forgetting disclaimers-will I get in trouble for that?? :O I DO NOT OWN NARNIA!!!**

**Special thanks, as always, to those who reviewed, they are much appreciated, and super huge awesome thanks to my fanfic friend, imprintedjet09! I love you hun! ;D**

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

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Several hours after the conclusion of Iridescent's tale found the survivors of the raid party resting in the cool inner chambers of the How. Many of them were still suffering from minor wounds. seeing as Lucy's cordial was only used on the gravest afflictions, and were thus awaiting treatment from Trufflehunter the badger. Under normal circumstances, the female centaur Wanefeather would have been the healer, but that night she, her husband Glenstorm, and their sons were holding a vigil for their fallen child. Peter had offered to join them, fully feeling their loss was his responsibility, but they had politely rejected him, saying it was a private family tradition of centaurs.

Those who had survived the raid but were well enough to get along without healing were scattered throughout the How, some resting, some having repairs made to their armor, and others quietly trying to find something to do with themselves to erase from their minds the memories of the preceding night,

Indeed, the mood of the How was a very somber one that night, even with the new edition of Iridescent and the miraculous survival of the fifth Pevensie. The main group of royals were at that particular moment all sitting in the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice, each not acknowledging any of the other's presence. Each was replaying different, horrific scenes from the night in their minds.

Edmund was reliving the moment he had flown over the courtyard to discover thousands of bodies of both Narnians and Telmarines alike. A dead silence had hung over the place, thick as the blood shed over the stone ground.

Susan was reliving the moment when she had killed two Telmarines and none more were coming after her. She had taken the opportunity to cast a quick glance around the courtyard only to discover hundreds upon hundreds of Telmarine archers lining the walls of a particularly high wall that went around the whole courtyard. There was no possible place you could go in the expansive courtyard to get away from their line of fire. It was shaping out to be a massacre of the Narnians, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Penelope was reliving the moment of being dragged off by the two Telmarines and having a dagger thrust into her side. Never before had she felt such an excruciating, agonizing pain, nor such a longing for her life to end if only it would have stopped the pain.

Peter was sitting in a corner, reliving the second he had made the snap decision to try and raid the castle. He had only done it out of anger towards Caspian, Lucy, and all the others who had doubted him. And in the end, they had turned out to be right. If only he had listened to reason.. All those innocent lives..

Caspian's ears were ringing with Susan's voice revealing to him that Penelope had fallen behind and had been left at the castle. Hearing that she had been dragged off and stabbed to death by two Telmarines.. The only time he had felt a pain that strong was when he was a young boy, hearing his father was dead and he would no longer be there to tell him stories and teach him swordfighting.

Caspian looked across the chamber to where Penelope was sitting, leaning against the stone troth that held the fire lighting the pictures on the walls and staring at a point to Caspian's right. He followed her eyes and saw that she was gazing raptly at the stone carving of Aslan, her expression wrapped deeply in thought. He noticed, not for the first time, just how pretty she really was as the firelight cast her face into the light. A great hopelessness came over him at the thought of losing her and never being able to see her face again.

Caspian stood from his place on the stairs of the Stone Table and walked over to her, his footsteps echoing in the darkness. He sat down to her left, not wanting to break her gaze with the Great Lion. As he took his place next to her, she gave a start and turned her attention to him.

"Hello, Caspian," she said quietly, offering him a warm half-smile.

"Hello Penelope. How is your side doing?" he asked. Automatically, her hand went to her side, but a smile spread across her lips.

"It doesn't feel as if I was ever injured, thanks for asking. Lucy's cordial works wonders." she said conversationally.

"So the stories go," Caspian said. An awkward silence ensued for a moment, during which Penelope watched him expectantly and he twiddled his thumbs, watching as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen any set of thumbs do in his life.

"So.." she said after a moment, looking slightly irritated by his lack of conversation.

"So.." he repeated. She huffed, very quietly, and turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. They sat like this for a moment before Caspian gathered up the courage to discuss what he had been wanting to.

"Did you know any of the stuff Iridescent told us earlier today?" he asked, drawing her gaze to where the elf lay. She had dropped off asleep on the Stone Table next to Lucy a good quarter hour ago and was now snoring enthusiastically.

"Bits and pieces of it I had heard from Trufflehunter and Trumpkin, but never anything that in depth. I had no idea I spent over a thousand years in Aslan's company fast asleep." she said with a half chuckle.

"Yes, that is very interesting. Do you not have any memories of it?" Caspian asked.

Penelope thought for a good few minutes, and then her face lit up. "Yes, actually, I think I do! I can remember a deep, calming voice singing to me.. and.. And a warmth that filled my entire body.. but that's it.." she trailed off looking excited and disappointed at the same time.

Caspian could think of no appropriate response to this revelation, so he chose to go with another closely related subject. "I think that your story has refilled the Narnians' hope." he said very softly.

She looked up at him with an eyebrow cocked. "How so?"

"Well we were all beginning to doubt whether or not Aslan still cared, to put it bluntly. With our High King, who had fought alongside Aslan to defeat the White Witch doubting and saying we should not depend on Him, and the blow of the devastating loss of the raid on the castle, we could all have used a reassurance of some kind. And we got one of the best kind. The knowledge that you should not have survived last night and did because of Iridescent being sent to save you by the Great Lion Himself is exactly what we needed to hear. A miracle undeniably provided by Him to show that he still cares for Narnia and her people."

Penelope stared at him with admiring eyes. "Well I never would have thought of it that way.." she murmured. "You're very wise, do you know that?" she added. Caspian gave a small start.

"Me?" he asked dumbly. Penelope laughed.

"Yes, you. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure you're the only Caspian in this entire army." she said, drawing a smile from Caspian.

"But I am not that wise." he said lamely, his face turning red. Penelope rolled her eyes.

"Don't be modest!" she said. Then, her voice softening, she added, "You're one of the wisest people I know."

Caspian looked at her seriously. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course." she said. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't. Unfortunately, wise thoughts come from experience, something you and I have both had too much of."

"Experience makes for good leaders." he said absentmindedly. "Just look at your siblings."

"Indeed. And look at yourself," Penelope said. Caspian looked up, his mouth open and a protest on his tongue, but she put a hand up to cut him off. "Caspian I've told you this before and I'm going to tell you again. You have the makings of a great leader, one as great as all four of my siblings combined. Have you ever thought of this? It took four of them to rule because they each possessed special talents and traits that would be essential for Narnia's repair after the 100 year winter. There will only be one of you ruling as Narnia's repaired this time. That's saying a lot about you, Caspian. All of this is happening while you are next in line for the throne for a reason."

Caspian made no response to this, and instead sat staring at her with his mouth agape. It was at that moment he realized for the first time that she was right. Everything she had been saying all along was right.

He saw from the corner of his eye Penelope cast a upwards and looked to see Iridescent sitting up and stretching. As they watched, she wiped a long smudged of drool from her chin. Penelope giggled, drawing her attention to the pair.

"Oh-Penel-" she yawned massively here, "-ope how delightful." she said groggily. "Man, that thing is not as comfortable as it looks." she added as an afterthought, shooting a dirty look down at the Stone Table.

Still giggling, Penelope responded. "Well then, let's head for the bunkers. I daresay those will be a bit more comfortable for you than a slab of stone,"

Penelope stood and started for the exit of the chamber, but at the last minute turned and very quickly placed a kiss on Caspian's cheek. "Goodnight, Caspian. I'll see you later," she said soflty, looking down to hide the blush that was creeping along her cheeks before turning and hurrying out of chamber with a cackling Iridescent at her heels.

Caspian stared after them, his cheek burning where her lips had met it. He sat in a stunned silence, not being able to believe the wonderful turn of events his night had taken, when he noticed a dark figure looming in the shadows. Jumping to his feet and drawing his sword, a cold, nasally voice reached his ears.

"Put that away boy. Hasn't it caused enough damage for one day?"

Caspian's celebratory aura came crashing down upon him like a wave on the seashore at Nikabrik's mocks. Huffing, he thrust the sword back into the sheath.

"What do you want, congratulations?" he hissed as the dwarf made his way down to him.

"You want your uncles blood. So do we. You want his throne. We can get it for you." he said simply, a dark smirk marring his features, before turning and walking round to the front of the chamber where Aslan's stone carving sat staring solemnly down at the Stone Table. Caspian followed him wearily.

"You've already tried one ancient power-" Nikabrik said as Caspian came to stand next to him. "-it failed. But there is another power, greater still, that kept even Aslan at bay for near a hundred years."

As he spoke, another looming figure approached from the darkest corner of the chamber, limping slightly and wearing a long black cloak that hid all of it from view. When it spoke, it was in a low, rasping voice that sent chills down Caspian's spine and caused him to draw his sword.

"I am hunger. I am thirst. I can fast for a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred years on the ice and not die. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show.. me.. your enemies!!" it barked the last bit and threw back its hood to reveal the horrible snouted face and gleaming barred teeth of a werewolf. Caspian took a step backwards, alarmed.

"What you hate, so will we." said another voice, this one high and rasping and female. Again, the young prince shuddered and turned to watch as another figure appeared and let down her hood, revealing the bloodred eyes and beak of a hag. "No one hates better than us."

Looking wearily between the two, Caspian asked in a quiet voice. "And you can.. guarantee Miraz's death?"

The hag bowed. "And more."

Caspian sheathed his sword and continued to look between the two horrible creatures, not sure if they could be trusted but liking the promises they were making. Then the hag spoke again.

"Let the circle be drawn!" and she began circling Caspian, dragging her finger in the ground and saying an incantation in a language Caspian did not understand as she went. The werewolf leered at him and he shot a frightened look at Nikabrik, who was grinning malevolently and nodded his head in a not so reassuring way. As her chant drew to a climax and she finished her circle, the hag wiped out an icy blue staff that she stabbed into the ground between the two pillars framing Aslan's carving. A large, glowing block of ice grew all the way up the tall pillars, and as it finished itself, a figure appeared floating in the middle of the mass, a figure with long flowing white blond hair and deathly pale skin.

Caspian found himself face to face with none other than the White Witch herself. She smiled down at him coldly, and for some reason he found himself smiling back.

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**Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger! Sorry guys, looks like you'll have to wait another chapter to find out the end to this exciting confrontation.**

**Read and review! You know you want to! :D**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper**


	20. Chapter 19 Prophecies and Powerlust

*Chapter 19-Prophecies and Powerlust *

**Hellooooooooo my dears! I am so so so so sorry for the delay! School has been murder and on top of that life has just been awful and stressful so I haven't been in a very creative mood lately. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and is keeping up with my story despite my many gaps between updates. I promise I will try to be more consistent!**

**Also, I'm still working on the pictures for this story, but HOPEFULLY(I make no promises) some should be up within the week. I'll post an author's note when they are. :]**

**Huge thanks goes out to imprintedjet09 for her love and persistent demanding of chapters and for being my inspiration! Love you Jordi! **

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE**

Peter Pevensie could not get the one thing he wanted most in the world right now-sleep. His lids were heavy upon his bloodshot eyes and his body was virtually unresponsive to his thoughts and environment, but the tender caress of sleep would not overcome him. For the young man's mind was racing with burning thoughts and mixed emotions of the events of the past 48 hours.

The raid. Penelope's death. The confrontation with Caspian. Penelope's return. Iridescent's appearance. Iridescent's tale. Caspian and Penelope in the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice..

_No. Stop those thoughts. _he said firmly to himself. _There is nothing between them._

But the truthful, logical part of his mind reminded him, unwantedly, of the way they had behaved. The way they had looked at eachother..

Edmund gave a loud snore and abruptly rolled over in his sleep, throwing his arm out and smacking Peter, rather painfully, in the nose. Peter's hand flew up in frustrated indignation to thwack his brother back, but he caught his temper at the last minute. Sighing and realizing he needed to think, and being in danger of being beaten up by Edmund was definitely a distraction, he clambered to his feet and trudged from the chamber.

Peter stopped at the exit to the chamber and doubled back for his sword, Rhindon, an ominously vulnerable feeling creeping through his bones. But even after he had his trusted gift from Father Christmas, he found the feeling to not be yet gone.

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Penelope laid on a blanket on the stone floor of the chamber designated to the female soldiers' comforts and privacy. A deep slumber enveloped her, but she was fretful in her sleeping stage. Her eyes rolled beneath her lids and she thrashed about, her limbs twitching. She gave a small cry and completely turned over, her teeth bared and her right hand groped around for something..

_She was standing in the middle of a dark, dark forest. The trees had no leaves, and the naked branches twisted and turned up into the black sky, looking rather like broken limbs of thousands of bodies on a battlefield. The grass at her feet was short and dead, a deep, ugly brown. It was cold; when she exhaled she could see her breath. _

_She was wearily trying to get an idea of where she was when ragged breathing from her right reached her ear. She whipped around and saw something she was sure wasn't there before. Emerging from the darkness was a lowly stooped hooded figure. It walked with a heavy limp as it approached her, and as she watched its hand reached inside its robe and drew out a very familiar looking sword. After a moment of staring at the sword, recognition clicked and horror dawned on her-it was her brother's sword, Rhindon. And this hooded figure definitely was not Peter. _

_She took a step back in fear and felt herself collide with something warm and hard. A low growl escaped whatever it was and before she could jump forward in surprise, arms were around her. She let out a scream, but her voice wasn't her own. It was lower, richer, more accented.._

_As she watched, the scene around her changed. The ground froze over with sickly blue ice, which then crawled up the tree trunks and engulfed the whole forest in ice. Two huge icicles grew at the head of the forest directly in front of her, and between them rose another sheet of ice. Out from this emerged the foggy shape of a woman, wearing a long blue down the same colour as the ice with long blond hair and skin so pale you would have thought she was dead. But it wasn't to her Penelope paid attention._

_The figure holding Rhindon was directly in front of her. All Penelope could see of her face were blood red eyes glaring up at her maliciously. The figure held out Rhindon, and then abruptly brought the sword down and across her wrist. An ear piercing shriek echoed through the clearing as Narnian red blood gushed from the wound and poured onto the ice._

_But a strange thing happened as soon as Penelope's blood touched the ice. All around her, a gag-inducing odor swept through the forest, and right before her eyes piles of dark things she could not make out appeared through the trees. A strange whispering in an ancient language drifted through like a gust of wind and hung in the air, decreasing volume as the piles became mountains._

_One of the mounds reached a point where the things, too precariously stacked and too numerous in their nature, collapsed and spilled into the clearing, hitting the ice with hundreds of dull thuds. Penelope felt her knees give out beneath her as the things came into the light and she saw what they were._

_Bodies. Thousands of them. Minotaurs, dryads, fauns, elves, humans, centaurs. The entirety of Narnia filled that forest, she was sure of it. Her mind wheeled as she watched as more and more bodies filled the clearing, and more and more piles collapsed. _

_Then, right before her, 5 simmering bodies appeared, three female, two male. As she watched, blood poured from their forms, and the shapes of various weapons took form buried in them, clearly their points of death._

_Then the light cleared from them, and Penelope screamed until she was sure her lungs were bleeding, still in that strange voice. For laying before her, all clearly moved onto Aslan's country, were her siblings. _

_A sword protruded grotesquely from Peter's stomach, and a trail of blood ran from his mouth. Four arrows were shot into Susan's front at various points, one right in her chest. Edmund had no weapon in him, but it was clear his murderer had used an axe by the many gash marks running all over his body, the most obvious of these going through his neck and almost sweeping his head clean off. Lucy, at least, seemed to not have been murdered-the side of her head was caved in and horse hoof prints ran along her entire body, clearly a freak accident._

_It was the sixth and final body that drew her to realize what was going on and what drew her to wake up. For there, lying not five feet in front of her, was her own body._

_Penelope looked down at herself for the first time and saw, not her own pale feminine body, but the tan, muscular body of someone else she knew very well. _

_It was then she understood what the whispering voice was saying._

_"If his blood is spilled, thus will be every creature who calls himself Narnian."_

Penelope awoke with a scream, tears streaming down her face.

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Peter entered the main chamber of the How to find it deserted. It glowed orange from the torches hung at intervals throughout it. Somewhere far off in the distance, above ground, one of the patrol wolves howled mournfully to the moon.

Peter felt the wolf's cry was appropriate for his mood. In all his life, he didn't think he'd made a bigger mistake then he had in his decision of the night raid. If only he had listened to others instead of his own stubborn will..

Footsteps echoed through the chamber, and he looked up to see Edmund enter the chamber, tiredly rubbing his eyes and seemingly looking around for something. When he noticed Peter, he gave a small start and made his way over to him.

"What're you doing up at this hour? Aslan knows you especially need your sleep," Edmund said past a yawn. Peter smirked at him.

"You're one to talk," he said, drawing a chuckle from Edmund. When he stared at him expectantly, obviously wanting an answer, he sobered up. "I have too much to think about."

Edmund sighed. "Peter, if your beating yourself up about what happened at the castle.."

"I'm not," Peter snapped quickly. Edmund stared at him skeptically and he found he wasn't able to meet his younger brother's eyes.

"Look, Pete," Edmund said in a soft voice. "It was one mistake. You can't torture yourself about it."

"One mistake? Edmund, I murdered hundreds of innocent Narnians!!"

"You didn't murder them, Peter, they were killed."

"But it's my fault!"

"That may be so, but you've got to learn to let it go!!" Edmund shouted. Peter stared at him, his jaw taught and defensive but his eyes unsure and weary. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. "Pete, we all make mistakes. It's part of being human. If you didn't you wouldn't learn. Imagine how I feel about helping the White Witch. I caused the deaths of twice as many innocent Narnians as you did."

Peter stared at his brother in shock. It was the first time Edmund had ever talked about what had happened during their first trip to Narnia. His brother took a few misty eyed moments to recover himself before continuing.

"The point is, life goes on. Even after that I was able to become a great king of Narnia, if I do say so myself, and made up for what I did. You still are a great king, Peter. Don't let this one mistake make you lose your courage. Use it to become and even better leader than before."

The two brothers stared each other in the eye, each reliving everthing they had been through together. Peter found he was the proudest of Edmund he had ever been in his life. Tears were glistening in his eyes as he looked upon the man the once traitor had become.

The brotherly moment was ruined and they were brought back to harsh reality by a scream echoing from the woman's chamber followed by frantic footsteps and harsh sobbing. They watched in alarm as Penelope burst into the chamber, tears streaming down her face. She was barefoot and her hair was disheveled, and in her hand was a naked sword. Not a minute later, Lucy and Iridescent came sprinting out after her, and Penelope, once seeing them behind her, took off at a sprint down the tunnel leading to the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice.

Peter jumped to his feet and started off after her. From behind him, he heard Edmund ask, "What's going on?"

It was Iridescent who answered. "She had a nightmare. Caspian's in trouble."

Without any further answer, the group took off at a sprint after Penelope. Peter caught up with her and comfortingly grabbed her hand, giving her a reassuring smile. She stared back with a deeply frantic expression and continued running.

The group burst into the chamber to the sight of Caspian standing in front of a large block of ice with the image of a woman in the middle of it. With him were two hooded figures; a hag and a werewolf. The werewolf was looming behind Caspian. The hag was holding a gleaming knife in her hand.

"STOP!!" Peter's cry echoed through the chamber, followed by the _zing_ of Rhindon being unsheathed. The hag, werewolf, and giant woman in the ice's heads snapped up and similar expressions of anger crossed their faces. Peter and Penelope charged forward at the same time, followed by Edmund, Lucy, and Iridescent, and met the oncoming hag and werewolf. Nikabrik the dwarf emerged from the shadows and charged at Lucy, who met him with her dagger.

The werewolf threw its cloak back and jumped onto the Stone Table, then proceeded to use it as a ground for launching itself at Edmund, who unsheathed his sword at the last minute and brought it up into the monster's stomach as it went over. The wounded werewolf howled in pain and doubled over on itself, clutching its stomach. Edmund charged while its back was turned.

Lucy met Nikabrik with her dagger held in front of her, but the little girl was no match for him and he soon had her arm twisted behind her back almost to the point of breaking it. She screamed in pain and struggled feebly. Then the dwarf threw her down to the ground and advanced at her with his knife up, snickering darkly as Lucy cowered in fear, bracing herself for her death. Iridescent leapt over the Stone Table and met Nikabrik's raised knife with her own sword and quickly dispatched him. His dead body dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Penelope sprinted at the hag and, when they were almost upon each other, threw her leg up. The hag collided with her foot and flew backwards, hitting the side of the Stone Table hard. Penelope charged forward and made to sweep her sword down and slice the hag's head off, but the hag grabbed her wrist and twisted it. Penelope's body twisted with her arm with a sharp motion and she crashed to the ground. The hag pinned her arms down and brought her razor sharp beak down to Penelope's throat. Penelope threw her legs back and grabbed the hag between them, then threw them straight out again, launching the hag off of her. Grabbing her sword, Penelope charged and before the hag could get the wind back in her, stabbed down into her heart. With a screech the hag writhed for all of a second and died.

Peter ran Caspian and rammed him over, knocking him out of the circle of ice and taking his place.

"Get away from him!" he cried at the Witch. She looked taken aback for a minute and then leaned forward again.

"Ah.. Peter dear. How nice to see you again." she said with false sweetness. "Come on. Just one drop. You know you can't do this alone."

Her words intrigued Peter. He felt as if some sort of spell were overcoming him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give her the blood after all. She had a point... He couldn't do it alone.. They needed all the help they could get at this point..

Suddenly, the Witch gave a cry an jerked backwards. A sword was pierced from the back of the ice and protruding from her stomach. The ring of ice disappeared from Peter's feet and his thoughts cleared just as the Witch's eyes rolled into the back of her head and the ice collapsed, showering him in painful shards. It fell away to reveal Edmund standing with his sword held above his head.

He stood and sheathed it and, shooting Peter a dark look, muttered, "I know. You had it sorted."

A lump formed in Peter's throat. He felt eyes on him, and looked to see Penelope watching him with tearful eyes from where she and Caspian stood embracing each other. The twins silently communicated their similar feelings of frightened dispair.

Could anything else go wrong in this war?

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**Don't have much to say. Hope you all enjoyed it. Review and let me know. I've officially got the plot figured out now, so expect more frequent updates. :]**

**Love you all,**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper :D**


	21. Chapter 20 Low and Traitorous Ways

***Chapter 20-Low and Traitorous Ways***

**Hello my lovely dearest readers! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Have y'all eaten your sauerkraut for good luck in this year?? I HAVE :DD**

**What better way to harold in 2010 than with the next installment of my story? :D**

**I am so dearly sorry for the delays in updates my darlings. Gabby has been having a very rough time personally lately, from friends not wanting to be friends anymore to family problems. I found out Christmas day that my cousin, Elizabeth, has type 1 diabetes. She has to take 4 shots in her stomach every day for the rest of her life, poor dear. Prayers for her would be appreciated.**

**Well I have good news. Some time soon, there should be 2 new Narnian fanfics coming from yours truly! :D Both are going to be more emotional stories than this one, as I'm trying to expand my writing mediums. So look forward to those! Also drawings should be coming very very soon. Heehee!**

**This chappie goes out to Brittany, a fellow fanfiction user even though she doesn't write for Narnia. She inspired me to pick up my writing again and helped me find the inspiration I need. **

**Thanks as always to Jordi, my little crocodile hunter of looooooove. I love you darling :D**

**Thanks also to everyone else who reviewed and continues to review this story. Your reviews mean the world to me and I love to hear what you think. I do have a request for you though. In your reviews for this chappie, could you tell me your honest opinions of Penelope, Iridescent, and how I convey the original Narnians? I would much appreciate it.**

**NOW ENJOY OR DIE :D**

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The experience in the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice had left all of the royals perturbed, and needless to say none of them went back to sleep that night. Indeed, they all stayed in the chamber and sat in their designated corners, none speaking but all staring in shock at the mound of ice shards that was all that remained from their experience with the White Witch. That and Nikabrik's body, which lay forgotten in the corner, untouched since Iridescent had defeated him. It was well past the point of stiffening and turning ice cold and was starting to smell. A fact Iridescent was taking note of.

"By the Mane! What is the awful odor?!" she cried, breaking the somber silence and waving a hand before her face. The others sniffed the air, but it was only Edmund who smelled it, also.

"Oh dear Aslan! Did something die?!"

No one answered, but stared uncertainly between each other.

"Yes." Penelope said, standing as realization dawned on her. The others looked at her, slightly confused, and she strode across the chamber at a fast pace and, grabbing Iridescent's arm, dragged her over to the corner where the body lay, whispering fervently in her ear.

"I don't think anyone got around to cleaning up his body.." she was saying as they rounded the pillar where the elf and the dwarf had sparred. And sure enough, there, lying forgotten and reeking of a foul odor, was Nikabrik's dead body.

"Oh Aslan, how could I have forgotten he was there?" moaned Iridescent, running her hands through her hair and knotting them in it. "That's so stupid and irresponsible! Oh, what if Lucy had stumbled upon it?"

Penelope sighed and shook her head, drowning out her friend's babbling. Instead, she stepped around Nikabrik and kneeled down next to his head, closing his still-open eyes with her fingers. She looked up at Iridescent, tears burning in her eyes for the death of the dwarf who had, even though it had been malevolent and forced, done so much for her.

"We need to get him out of here. Before Lucy, or anyone else for that matter, does stumble upon him." she said in a hushed tone, not wanting her siblings to hear.

"How?" Iridescent asked. "There is no way we can get it out of this chamber without them seeing." she said, indicating toward the center part of the chamber. Penelope thought for a moment, then ran out to the chamber, straight to Edmund. Leaning down in his ear, she whispered,

"Could I borrow your cloak? Only if you don't want it back." she asked. He stared up at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, and shook his head.

"I've learned to just nod my head and pretend I know what you're talking about and go along with it. Sure, take it." he said, taking the cloak out from under him and handing it to her. She smiled at him and placed a kiss on his forehead before running off to the pillar, where Iridescent stood waiting. Edmund grumbled and wiped his forehead off, outwardly pretending to be disgusted. But in that very secret part of him, and he would never admit this to anyone in his entire life, that small display of affection made his day.

Penelope rounded the corner to find Iridescent pacing back and forth, staring disgustedly down at the body of the dwarf.

"Here." she said, unfolding the cloak. Then, feeling much like they were going to vomit at the manhandling of the carnage, they wrapped him up in the cloak and, between the two of them, carried him through the back parts of the chamber. Thankfully, without running into any Narnians, they made it out of the How and stood, surrounded in the foul stench of the corpse, not sure what next they should do.

"Come on, let's take him to the forest." Iridescent said after a moment's hesitation.

"Right."

And so, with some gags being exchanged between them, the two girls made their way across the large field before the How and into the forest that surrounded it. They did not dump it in the immediate forest, but went a little deeper into it and, finding a group of large boulders, stuck it between them, well hidden from view. After they finished, they stood and examined their handiwork, making sure it could not be seen by any outsiders. As Penelope jumped from the top of the boulders back down to Iridescent, she saw the elf was standing stock still and had a horrified look on her face. Penelope felt the blood drain from her face. What now?

"What is it?" she asked.

Iridescent didn't respond, but whispered with eyes cast toward the sky, "Aslan help us now." and shot off like an arrow back to the How.

"Iridescent!" Penelope cried, sprinting after her. As she ran across the field, a strong glinting coming from the edge of the forest she had just come from caught her eye. But she ignored it, feeling the obvious urgency of whatever had distracted Iridescent was more important then her curiosity. So, she kept running at full speed to the How.

As she looked up at her destination, she saw Peter, Caspian, Edmund, Susan, Lucy, Trumpkin, and other Narnians emerge from the top ledge of the How that stood above the entrance, dwarfed by the distance between her and the How. At the same moment she saw Peter look down at her, and his eyes widened in disbelief and.. anger? She felt her pace slow down, perturbed by his reaction to seeing her.

Just then, she heard a whizzing by her ear and saw an arrow burry itself in the ground in front of her. She flinched and ducked down, covering her hands with her head and letting out a small scream she had no control over. Another arrow came flying past her, this one grazing her sleeve, and she turned back to see who her attackers were. A gasp escaped her as her eyes fell upon what was behind her.

Penelope had expected to just see a couple of Telmarine archers with crossbows on horseback-scouts, sent to size up the enemy and take out any royals or high standing generals they could. Instead, she found herself facing the entire Telmarine army, all fully armed and stationed in their regiments to fight. The cavalry was in the front, occupying three rows stretching the entire length of the clearing. Hundreds of men with crossbows, swords, lances, maces and other weapons sat on fully armed and vicious looking horses, all clearly dumb beasts. Behind them, and Penelope had to crane her neck to see them, were the regular soldiers on foot. This was by far the largest section of their army. Rows upon rows of countless men stood in full armor, their faces obscured from view by the same bronze face mask that held a sneering expression and was connected to the helmets. The front row of this regiment held lances and large round shields with deadly looking spikes in the center; Penelope couldn't see it from her vantage point, but all the rest of the men had the shields, too, just of smaller size. And finally, behind these men, were what the Narnians were most concerned about; their intricately designed and no doubt devastating war machines. Penelope was able to count 6 catapults and several other machines she didn't even know names for.

Just then, she saw the horsed archers lift their crossbows and take aim once again-at her. On an adrenaline fueled act of impulse, she turned and sprinted blindly for the How, hearing the snapping of the crossbows as the arrows were released. Hoping to dodge the arrows and throw the archers off, she counted to five in her head, giving the arrows time to soar through the air, and once she reached five threw herself onto the ground, army rolling as she went. She heard panicked screams come from the Narnians, and realized it must have looked like she had been hit, and so she wasted no time to spring to her feet and again take off.

Suddenly, as she was listening for the foreboding sound of crossbow belts being released, she heard a loud screeching coming from overhead, and looked up to see a gryphon, high in the air, spread its wings and hurl itself back down to the earth at an alarming rate. Realizing what was going on, she looked up to the How and saw Edmund smirking down at her, and she abruptly came to a halt, a very similar smirk pulling at her own lips.

Then, about two meters before her, the gryphon's descent brought it level to the ground, and it raced forward for her, closing the distance between them. Penelope threw her arms out to her sides, and not a second later the beast's claws were around them and it was yanking her off the ground, carrying her up into the air with another screech. It flew up into an arch, and with a spin hurtled down to the How, dropping Penelope on the ledge with her family. When her feet were firmly planted on the ground again, she turned back to the gryphon and bowed her head in gratitude.

"Thank you, friend!" she said, smiling.

"Of course, Milady!" it replied, bowing gracefully while hovering in the air, and with another screech flew into the air again, to take its place at the top of the hill with its brethren.

Peter rounded on Penelope, his eyes flashing. Penelope braced herself, feeling her twins anger radiating off him like heat from the sun, and waited for him to blow up on her. She was utterly shocked when he pulled her into a tight hug, pulling back and sweeping his eyes over her.

"Are you alright?" he demanded, spinning her around and checking everywhere for wounds.

"I'm quite fine. Not a scratch on me." she replied, glancing in shock at Edmund, who merely rolled his eyes and mouthed, "Obsessive older brother."

"Well thank Aslan for that. Those Telmarines.. Shouting at you while your back was turned!!" Peter growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. He clenched his fists and turned to the looming Telmarine army, glaring down upon them and shooting twice as many arrows as they had with his eyes.

"I agree. That was low and traitorous.. Just the sort of thing Miraz would do." said Dr. Cornelius, also glaring down at the Telmarines.

"We must act. Clearly they plan on attacking us. Why else would they have come in full armor with those war machines and open firing upon our men right before us?" Susan said, looking keenly at her older brother.

"Well they don't inviting us to a picnic, I can tell you that much." Edmund put in sarcastically. A sharp look from all the others and an elbow to the ribs from Susan let him know that now was _not_ the time. He put his hands up and stepped back from her, grumbling. "Well I'm just saying."

"Peter, we need to make a plan." Penelope said, looking up at her twin with a guarded expression.

There was a heavy silence before Peter responded, during which everyone sat on pins and needles and stared at the High King uncertainly. Then he finally spoke. "Susan, Lucy, can I speak with you for a minute? Everyone else, go to Aslan's chamber. You have ten minutes to get there. By the time I'm done speaking with the girls, I expect you all to be there waiting for us. We will arrive shortly."

The others nodded and filed in to the How through the pathway leading directly to Aslan's Chamber of Sacrifice. Penelope walked in with Caspian in silence, her nerves jittering and worry raking her. She glanced behind her back at Peter to see him speaking in hushed tones with Susan and Lucy, their heads all bowed closely together. _What's he planning?_ she thought, gnawing her lip anxiously.

Up ahead of her, she heard Iridescent's frustrated shrieking of a word that made Penelope blush.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME, WE HAULED THAT ICKY LITTLE CORPSE ALL THAT WAY WHEN THIS PATHWAY WAS _RIGHT HERE_?!"

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**Poor Iridescent. Doing all that unnecessary work for nothing ****J Heehee**

**Well there ya have it!! Like it? I worked super hard on it and overcame a great writer's block *hisses* to get this to y'all, and am quite proud of the results :D**

**Remember, REVIEW, and tell me what you think of my characters and how I portray the Pevensies/ Caspian/ etc. I am very curious as to if I'm Mary-Sueifying Penny and Iridescent and making the originals OOC(out of character.) Let me know please!!**

**HAPPY NEW DECADE! ;D**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper**


	22. Chapter 21 Of Twins and Aslan

*Chapter 21- Of Twins and Aslan*

**Hallo my lovelies! How art thou fairing?**

**Gabby was supposed to go back to school again today, but seeing as every time she stands up she feels faint, her mother decided staying home would be best. So I'm using this as an opportunity to update!**

**A couple of announcements before the chapter. First off, I would like to thank every one who reviewed and left me their opinions for my characters, especially darestodream for her magnificent opinions, which she was so kind as to pm me because fanfic wasn't letting her review. Thanks, hun! **

**Secondly, to all my readers, please go read Mystic Lover of the Fairytale's stories. Formerly known as Princess Lucy, she's a very good writer whose account has been hacked by a user known as ravenreturns because she reported his story, which deserved to be reported. So go help her out by reading her stories. Pwetty pwease? ****J**

**Third, me and my bestest fanfiction friend, Jordi(imprintedjet09) have teamed up and are writing a funny Narnia fanfic called 'EPIC' under the username 'Hillbillyhunter xD' Reviews for this story would be appreciated.**

**Fourth, PICTURE OF PENELOPE IS UP!! Go check out my profile and see :DD**

**That's all :D**

**For darestodream**

As promised, Peter, Susan and Lucy entered Aslan's Chamber of Sacrifice several minutes after the rest of the group had. They arrived to the sight of Edmund pacing, Penelope staring wearily at the Stone Table, and Iridescent.. sleeping. When the three entered, everyone stood up, and Penelope nudged Iridescent awake. Everyone formed a circle around the Stone Table and waited for Peter to speak.

"We have a plan," Peter began. "It's risky, but at this point it's our only chance."

"What is it?" Edmund asked, his ears perking up at the sound of potential action.

Peter glanced back at Lucy and Susan before continuing. "We need to fight, there's no doubt about that. No matter what we do at this point, it's going to end in fighting."

"As well it should!" chirped Reepicheep, brandishing his rapier.

"But we can't do it alone." Peter finished, looking meaningfully behind the group. They turned, following his gaze to see the stone carving of Aslan looking down upon them.

"Aslan?" Penelope asked. Peter nodded to her.

"Um, sorry to be a spoil sport, Pete, but don't you think Aslan's made it pretty clear at this point that he's not coming to help us?" Edmund asked, looking skeptically at the stone carving. Peter evenly held his gaze.

"Exactly. Which is why we must go to him."

Silence. Then Dr Cornelius asked slowly, "I beg pardon, Your Majesty, but what exactly is it that you are planning?"

"Look. Lucy is one of Aslan's most faithful followers. I figure if we send her into the forest back to where she said she saw Aslan to find him, we can stay here and our army will hold off the Telmarine's until she finds him. Then he'll come in and help us defeat them, like the battle with the White Witch." Peter finished off looking at Edmund, who was the only one in the chamber besides himself who had been at that battle. The thought struck Peter dumb for a moment. All his good and faithful men, long dead, gone forever, forgotten..

In the corner where he sat, Trumpkin got to his feet, his face beat red and his hands clenched into fists. "Cakes and kettledrums," he hissed lowly at the High King. "_That's _you're next big plan? Sending a little girl into the darkest part of the forest _alone_?!"

Peter stood his ground. "It's our only chance."

"And she won't be alone," Susan stepped in, looking defensive and ready for action. Trumpkin's eyes, which had been steely a moment ago, turned soft and hurt as he stepped up next to Lucy, his final hope for getting his side heard.

"Hav-haven't enough of us died already?" he asked pleadingly.

"Nikabrik was my friend, too." came Trufflehunter's serene voice from across the chamber. "But Queen Lucy hasn't. And, neither have I."

The sound of a sword being drawn echoed through the chamber. "For Aslan." Reepicheep said, calmer than anyone had ever heard him, as he crossed his sword over his heart.

"For Aslan." repeated the oldest Bulgy Bear, who had attended the meeting after relentlessly begging Caspian to be allowed into the next one. Caspian had seen he was a good and faithful Narnian, and had agreed after some time. True, it was partially to get him off his back, but still.

"Then I'm going with you." Trumpkin said determinedly to Lucy, who smiled warmly.

"No, we need you here." she said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Rather dejectedly, Trumpkin shuffled back over to his seat and sat, placing his head in his hands.

"If I may," came Caspian's quiet voice from the stairs leading into the chamber. All eyes turned to him. "Miraz may be a tyrant, and a murderer, but as King, he is subject to the traditions and expectations of his people. There is one that may buy us some time." he said, placing a hand on his sword and staring at Peter with a crooked grin, the wheels in his head turning.

"And what would that be?" asked Edmund, growing impatient from the dramatic buildups everyone was creating before saying their plans. Did they really think now was the time for dramatic effects every minute?

Caspian turned to him. "Challenge him to a duel. A duel to the death. As King, his people will expect him to accept, especially when the challenge is coming from his traitorous nephew who is competing for the throne. Telmarines revel in the opportunity to prove themselves, and do not turn down challenges. Their egos would not allow it."

"It's perfect, really." said Edmund, grinning delightedly and rubbing his hands together.

"I disagree," said Peter. "With one thing."

All the gathered sucked in their breaths, dreading what was coming back. They were all having flashbacks to Caspian and Peter's confrontation in the forest earlier that week. Aslan knew the last thing they needed was a repeat of that.

Caspian's eye twitched slightly. "And what would that be?" _You pompous, egotistical, blond headed bas-_

"It's not going to be you fighting Miraz. It's going to be me." Peter answered. He and everyone else watched Caspian, measuring his reaction.

"He is my uncle, this is my war, it is my throne. I will be the one who fights him." Caspian said, fighting to keep his voice even through his anger.

"No."

"Why not?!" Caspian shouted, letting his temper get the best of him. The others flinched as his voice echoed through the dark chamber.

"You said so yourself, it's your throne." Peter said back, fighting to keep his own temper in check.

"Yes, and?"

"Caspian it would be stupid to send the future king out into such an uncertain challenge. Aslan knows how this will turn out. And you're the only one who can save Narnia. YOU'RE the one leading this army. Narnia needs you a lot more than it needs me. You're worth nothing to it dead." he said, quoting Mr. Beaver from long ago on their first adventure through the wardrobe.

Caspian stood, considering this. The anger subsided as he saw the logic in Peter's reasoning. "I suppose you are right. But I do not feel right sending you out into battle purely so that it is not my blood being spilled at the hand of Miraz."

Penelope was listening to the exchange in horror. Although she could see the genius behind the plan, she did not like how it was going to end. Peter had admitted himself that either way, Miraz would end up victorious in the end, and that he was only trying to spare Caspian from certain death. The others were going with the fact that Peter was sending himself into a duel he knew he had no hopes of winning nonchalantly, as if it was a part of their every day routine. She, however, felt sick to her stomach. Her twin, her brother, facing death willingly so another would not have to. Surely, it didn't have to be royalty that challenged Miraz..?

Then, as she hopelessly watched Caspian and Peter write down a challenge to be sent to Miraz with Edmund, an idea so blatantly obvious struck her she was amazed she hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Peter, you are the High King of Narnia. You and Caspian both together are leading this army. Narnia _does_ still need you. You shouldn't be going out to your death while there is someone else here that is much less important and could go fight him for the both of you." she said, jumping up and striding over to the two. They were watching her curiously, as were everyone else in the chamber.

"Who?" Peter asked, bent over the Stone Table on his way to begin the challenge letter. His pen was frozen halfway in the way.

Penelope took a deep breath. "Me."

A silence so intense it pounded on ones ears filled the chamber, broken after a few icy moments by Peter. "No."

"Why not?" Penelope demanded.

"It's too dangerous." Peter said firmly.

"Well you're already sending your other two sisters into a dangerous battle, why not make it all three?" Trumpkin muttered darkly. Peter glared at him ferociously and the dwarf regretted saying anything.

"Peter, think about it. It makes no sense for us to send you into a battle where there is no chance of you coming out again while Narnia so desperately needs you. Especially when there is the option to send someone else." Penelope said quickly.

Her brother stared at her with icy eyes, his jaw set hard. "I. Said. No. End of discussion."

"Hang on a second, Peter, I actually don't think that's such a bad idea." Edmund said from where he sat. His brother rounded on him, mouth open, ready to lash out at him like an angry cobra, but before he got the chance Penelope quickly continued talking.

"It's simple, really. Just put me in your armor, tie my hair up under the helmet, and voila! Miraz wouldn't be able to tell the difference. And I can fight with a sword, I'd be able to take him."

"Peter, I don't think it's that bad of an idea either." Susan said quietly, scared of her brother's reaction.

He didn't offer one. He was looking between the three of them like a wounded puppy, shocked and upset they were teaming up on him like this. He turned to Caspian, who was staring at Penelope with anxiety clearly written across his face.

"Caspian, what do you think?" he asked, knowing he had found someone who would agree with him.

"I think.. I do not know what I think. I can see the logic behind her plan, and I truly hate myself for it, but it is a smart plan. Cunning, and the Telmarines would never see it coming. But at the same time, my conscious is screaming for me to say no. After all, Penelope, you are also important to Narnia." he said uncertainly.

"I'm not a princess or queen, or even a lady. You two, on the other hand, are kings. My job is to defend Narnia and its rulers. And that's what I'm doing by going into this duel in your place, Peter."

"What do you think, Professor?" Caspian asked, turning to his tutor.

The old man looked thoughtfully between the three before answering. "It is devilishly cunning and most unexpected. I think it is the best way we could go."

Peter's shoulders slumped miserably. After a solid minute of staring no where in particular through clouded blue eyes while gnawing on his bottom lip, he finally said, "Will my armor even fit you?"

Penelope felt her face break out into a grin. At the pit of her stomach, butterflies fluttered around anxiously at the thought of what she was going to do, but her overall relief of keeping her twin was safe overshadowed the feeling.

"I'm not sure. We're twins, it should be fine-"

"Just because we're twins doesn't mean we fit the same clothes. I'm a good deal taller than you, and my shoulders are wider, and I'm bigger in general." Peter cut her off, rubbing at his temples as if he had a bad migraine.

"That could be a problem," the ever helpful and aware Edmund said.

Peter's eyes alit with hope. "Well if my armor can't fit you, then you can't wear it to the duel, which means-"

"We can have the dwarves make an exact replica. My wife can sew the tunic." Glenstorm cut Peter off, knowing exactly where he was heading with that. You could hear the hope hissing out of the blond king, deflating him.

"And we can each take turns fine tuning her combat skills. I call first session!" Edmund said, eager to show off his fighting abilities to his newest sister.

"I don't think so, sport. _You're_ going to be delivering the challenge to Miraz." Peter said, not looking up from where he was scrawling down the details of his challenge. "Caspian and I will train her. But first, she must go get fitted for her armor."

Taking that as her cue to leave, she ran over and gave Edmund a hug, wishing him good luck, thanked Peter and Caspian, and exited the chamber.

"I can't believe I'm letting her do this.." Peter whispered to himself, not meaning for anyone to hear. But someone did hear.

Those same words were just running through Caspian's head, and for the first time since they'd met, the two kings agreed on something.

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Hours later found Penelope in the field outside the How, training with Caspian and Peter, who were both in very morose moods. But they were eager to show her any techniques they could; anything that could possibly help give her a better chance.

"Attack me with your sword and block with the shield." Peter was instructing, lunging at Penelope with the sword he was using. Penelope lifted the shield just in time, so that Peter's attack met the bright red emblem of Aslan, and at the same time she brought the flat side of Rhindon to her brother's shins, knocking his feet out from under him. In a second, he was on the ground and Penelope was standing over him, pressing Rhindon to the hollow of his neck.

"Dead." she said with a smirk before sheathing the sword and helping him to his feet. Peter brushed the dirt of his back and smirked at her.

"Very good, Penny. You're making great progress. Who knows? Maybe we'll make a king out of you yet,"

Penelope beamed at the compliment, her eyes shining with pride at her accomplishment. Few could best High King Peter at sword fighting. Then again, she was his twin.

"My turn." Caspian said, taking Peter's place across from Penelope.

"Are you going to actually try this time?" Penelope asked with a crooked grin, earning a blush from Caspian.

Indeed, Caspian had been going easy on her the entire training session, letting her get hits in and rarely ever using an attack in fear he might accidentally hit her. A fact Penelope picked up on, and appreciated at first because she thought it was chivalrous, but was getting rather annoyed with now. She needed him to be serious and tough, this was to train her. Miraz wouldn't go easy on her.

But as they got into position, they were interrupted by the sound of hoof beats and loud, thunderous steps. They looked up to see Glenstorm, Giant Rumblebuffin, and Edmund all returning from the Telmarine camp. The trio of duelers met them half way.

"Well?" Peter demanded.

Edmund grinned maniacally. "He accepted. Prompted, of course, by yours truly."

"Way to go, Ed!" Penelope cheered, clapping her brother on the back. Then her older sister side kicked in and she span him around, looking all over for any possible wounds. "They didn't attack you, did they? You made it out alright?"

"Yes, mum," Edmund said, laughing and swatting her hands away. She smiled sheepishly at him.

"Well, then its settled. What time did they propose?" Peter asked. In his challenge, as is Narnian custom, he made it clear that Miraz was to choose what time the duel would take place.

"At high noon in one day." Edmund answered, his smile fading, as did the others'. That didn't give them very much time to prepare..

Peter looked at his twin, seeing the weariness etched across her face caused by the finality of Edmund's announcement. Peter knew there was no time she would be ready for the duel by then, and he could tell she knew, also. He could feel the fear and incredulity radiating off of her in waves.

"Edmund, go into the How. Gather all the Narnians and announce the plan to them. Caspian and I will stay here and continue training Penelope. After you tell the men, go to the armory and check on Penelope's chain mail and armor and see how that's coming along. Then, report back to us. Then you can train Penelope." Peter said.

Edmund smirked. "Aye ate, captain. Penelope, get ready to be stomped into the dirt." and with that, he took off for the How.

"Right. Let's get to it, then." Penelope said, and the three made their way back to the combat field to continue their hours of grueling practice.

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**Yee! Hope y'all liked it, that was one of my favorite chapters so far. Make sure to review ;)**

**REMEMBER-**

**-Read Mystic Lover of the Fairytale's stories**

**-Read "EPIC" by Hillbillyhunter xD**

**-Look forward to my next chapter. It's gonna be a big one!**

**Peace,**

**~Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper :D**


	23. Chapter 22 Fight to the Finish

*Chapter 22- First to the Finish*

**Hello all! I felt the need to update today.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed and who are going to check out EPIC by HILLBILLYHUNTERS XD, aka me and Jordi(imprintedjet09) If you haven't yet, then I think you should. It's definitely good for a laugh.**

**Now enjoy. 3**

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Penelope her arms into the suit of chain mail, tugging it over her head and adjusting it on her torso. The metal was heavy and thick and uncomfortable on her skin, when she was used to the thin material of her dresses. She had, for the raid on the castle, worn a thin layer of chain mail for her arms and midsection, but that was only one layer and no where near as heavy as this was. She watched as a lady dwarf bent over and placed another set of chain mail at her feet, this one made into two long tube like shapes that were clearly meant for her legs.

"Step into this, please, Milady." she said to Penelope in her high pitched voice, and she did so. The dwarf pulled the chain mail up her legs and waited as Penelope pulled the red tunic with the golden emblem of the lion over herself, and then tied a brown leather belt around her hips, holding the bottom layer of chain mail in place. She handed Penelope the metal arm guards, which she proceeded to fasten to her arms while the dwarf did the same with the matching shin guards. Penelope then slid the leather gloves over her hands. She was soon completely covered in armor, no part of her skin was left bare.

Iridescent came into the room with a handful of hairpins in her hands and smiled at Penelope, though it didn't reach her wary lavender eyes. Penelope swallowed hard. She knew her friend hated the idea of her challenging the Telmarine king to a duel. But Penelope had to. It was the only thing keeping her brother safe. And it would promise the liberation of Narnia.

"Let's get your hair up, then." Iridescent said, coming over next to Penelope. The two girls sat down cross-legged, the elf behind the human, and sat in silence as Iridescent took Penelope's long blonde hair in her hands and braided it into a plait. Penelope drew unrecognizable shapes in the dirt as Iridescent took the braid and piled it to the top of her head, pinning it down with the bobby pins until it was able to stay atop her head without the assistance of Iridescent. The elf then moved in front of Penelope and fanned the bottom of her hair, which due to the position of the braid rested on her forehead, across her forehead into Peter's style of bangs.

"Alright," she said after a minute of studying her handiwork, and getting to her feet. "I'm done with you."

Penelope stood and trekked over to the tiny mirror which hung on the wall, her motions awkward because of the heavy armor weighing her down, and looked at herself. She let out a gasp, for staring back at her wasn't her, but was the splitting image of her brother, Peter. There was no doubt that they were twins. If Penelope hadn't known any better, she would have thought she was Peter. Iridescent had done good with her hair, and the armor covered up her feminine features. Susan had advised she bind her breasts with a cloth to make them appear flatter, and to put more layering at her waist to cover the feminine curves, both of which Penelope had, and Susan was right- there was hardly any indication to the womanly body the armor was containing.

She turned back to her childhood friend, who was looking at her with a mixture of pride and fear written on her beautiful face. Iridescent smiled at her and held out a sword which was still in its sheath, a sheath of red leather with silver detailing. The handle of the sword had a silver lion's head, the detailing on this was incredible, and from the sheath was a plain leather belt to attach the sword. Penelope reverently took Rhindon from her friend's hands and unsheathed the legendary sword as visions of her brother's past adventures in Narnia sang through her head.

As she drew the sword from the sheath with a satisfying _zing_, she noticed letters etched into the flat of the blade, and though she couldn't make out what they said, she felt the power they spoke of flow through her.

"_When Aslan bares His teeth, winter meets its death. When He shakes His mane, we shall have spring again_." Iridescent said in a low voice, her violet eyes shining in the firelight. Penelope gazed up at her friend and knew that she was experiencing the same magic she was, and Iridescent stepped forward and took Penelope's free hand. "Aslan is with you, Penny," she whispered, squeezing the younger girl's hand. "He is watching you today and He will not let you fall. Narnia needs you, your family needs her, Caspian needs you. Aslan will preserve you. You are his chosen one."

Penelope felt her heart swell with these words of encouragement. Iridescent had absolute faith in her, and Aslan. Aslan, who had protected her the first 16 years of her life, Aslan who had brought her together with her family, Aslan who had lead her to Caspian.

There was a soft knock on the large door barricading the two girls from the curious eyes of the Narnians as Penelope prepared for the duel. Edmund's voice floated into the chamber.

"Penelope? Are you ready? The duel's to start in half and hour, the Telmarines are already gathering at the arena."

Penelope again looked into the calm eyes of Iridescent before sheathing Rhindon and making her way over to the door, which she threw open to reveal her younger brother standing there at the door way, a surprised look capturing his features.

"Oh, Peter, I thought you were going to be dressed up as a Telmarine?" he asked, his murky brown eyes clouded. Penelope giggled.

"He is," she replied, and Edmund's eyes widened even more, if possible, and his mouth became a perfect little 'o' of surprise.

"Oi! You two really are identical twins!" he cried, getting over his momentary shock and becoming his usual cheeky self. But Penelope, knowing her favorite sibling as well as she did, could see through his ruse for what it was and could easily read the distress swimming in the murky pool of brown eyes. Penelope tried to smile, but found it faltered on her face and she simply reached out a slightly trembling hand and laid it on her younger brother's arm. Edmund looked down at her, a whirlpool of emotions evident on his face.

"It will all be fine, Edmund," she whispered, knowing it was what he needed to hear. "Don't worry. That old Telmarine won't know what's hit him by the time I'm done with him."

Edmund let out a short, bark like laugh, shaking his head with a jerkish motion. "It's not Miraz I'm worried about."

Penelope sighed deeply and swallowed hard. She suddenly found she couldn't meet her brother's eyes. Edmund was known for being quite and not very open with his emotions, and the fact that he was sharing now was.. Well, not all that great, considering it just added to Penelope's inner anxiety. So she pulled him into an awkward, one-armed hug that looked forced to an outsider, but really was a heartfelt action for both parties, before pulling away and stepping around him into the hallway.

She started slowly for the main chamber in the How, her heart rate accelerating with each step she took. Penelope put up a strong front about the fight when she was with others, but inside she was waging a war upon herself. She knew she was a mediocre sword fighter, and knew also Miraz surely wouldn't be. He was, after all, a king and a conqueror of sorts. He had to be a formidable warrior to accomplish all that he had in his many years of life. That was another thing concerning Penelope. Miraz was probably double her age, at the very least, and a great deal bigger. He would not only have experience, but size on his side. The odds of Penelope winning, she admitted to herself, were slimmer than Reepicheep's tiny rapier.

Penelope reached the entrance to the How and found Peter and Caspian waiting for her, a helmet in the latter's hands. Penelope had to do a double take to recognize her twin, for he was, as suggested by Edmund, disguised as a Telmarine youth. He was wearing Caspian's clothes he had worn when making his daring escape from the Telmarine castle over two weeks earlier, and had layers of dirt caked onto his pale skin, giving it the tan appearance of the Telmarines. His blonde hair was concealed by a wig of brown horse hair, and upon this he had a helmet to secure it to his head. A regular sword was strapped to his hip, which his hand rested on the hilt of. He looked convincing, and had Penelope not been able to sense it was her twin, she would have guessed it was a stable boy from Miraz's army, come to join their side. Which was believable, seeing as the way lesser members of the army were treated by the usurper and his higher ranking men was questionable with the greatest flattery, as was reported to the Narnian monarchs by their spies.

Peter's eyes swept over her sister and he let out a low whistle. "Wow, Penny. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were that King Peter fellow."

"And if I didn't know any better, dear brother, I would have thought you a Telmarine stableman." she replied lightly, plucking his nose between her thumb and forefinger. Caspian coughed lightly.

"Here is your helmet." he said, handing the object of conversation to her. She pulled her chain mail hood up over her head, and having taken the helmet placed it on her head. She fastened the thin leather strap under her chin, securing the helmet tightly.

"Wait." Peter said suddenly, his brow creasing. "You're not supposed to enter the tournament armed, you're supposed to be provided with your weapons from chosen soldiers." he said, pointedly looking down to the sword strapped to her waist.

"Oh, right," Penelope recalled Caspian explaining this to her as they were fine tuning the plans of the duel. She undid the belt and held the sword in her hand, looking unsurely down at it before up at her brother. "I take it you cannot be the one to bring me Rhindon?"

Regret flashed in Peter's eyes. "I'm sorry, Penelope, it'd be too risky to have us side by side in front of Miraz. The Telmarines might notice we look alike and the whole plan would be ruined."

Penelope sighed. "Right, then.." she murmured, before her eyes flashed with hope and she turned her gaze to Caspian.

"Caspian, would you be the one to bring me Rhindon?"

Caspian's jaw squared itself off and his eyes turned cold. "I am sorry, Penelope, but I have other engagements to attend to." he said, his voice firm and unfamiliar.

Penelope sucked in a cold breath. His tone shattered her calm aura and her heart plummeted to her feet. "You mean you aren't going to stay and watch the duel?" she asked quietly.

Caspian's expression remained cold. "I am sorry. I have already made other plans that unfortunately conflict with my attendance to your duel. Good luck." he said in that same distant tone before turning on his heel and briskly making his way down the corridor Susan and Lucy had disappeared through earlier that day after wishing their sister luck in her duel, his figure becoming enveloped in the shadows.

Penelope stood stock still. She felt a great weight press against her chest. She had been looking forward most to Caspian's attendance to the duel, for, petty though it was, she'd wanted the chance to be the only one fighting a dangerous fight, Narnia's fate on her blade, his eyes trained on her and solely her. She had wanted the chance to impress Caspian with her fighting skills, and the duel was the perfect opportunity; he wouldn't be fighting, just watching. But now he suddenly had other plans? She knew he was still sore about the whole idea of her fighting his uncle in her brothers, and inadvertently his, place. But she still would have liked to have his support. After all, Aslan knows this was probably their last private conversation to be had, and the duel would be Caspian's last chance to see Penelope while she still lived and breathed.

Penelope felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Peter standing next to her, his stance protective and his face, which held an expression of contempt, turned toward the direction Caspian had just vanished from. She knew her twin could feel the shock and hurt rolling off her in waves as if it was his own disappointment, and was appreciative of his comforting presence.

"Don't worry about him," Peter said, his tone somewhat gruff. "We can get Edmund to bring you your sword."

"What about Edmund?"

As if on cue, the younger king entered the chamber, having changed into armor of his own and was just finishing strapping leather armguards in place. Peter motioned him forward.

"We need you to bear Rhindon for Penelope upon entering the duel." he said, taking the sword from his twin and handing it to their dark haired younger brother. Edmund smirked.

"Cool," he said, true to his cheeky form.

Suddenly, a noise reached the three Pevensie's ears, soft at first but growing in strength. It was the sound of many men clapping and stomping and chanting, and they looked through the entrance to the How to see the entire Narnian army gathered along the pathway leading from the How to the stone arena, all craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the monarchs. Penelope couldn't help but grin at their enthusiasm.

"Right then. Are you ready?" Edmund asked, suddenly growing serious and sounding much older than he really was. Penelope nodded, her eyes set on the looming form of the arena which she was to duel in.

Peter suddenly had his arms around her and his face pressed into her shoulder. She was stunned for a moment, and at first did not return the hug, but then slid her arms around her brothers broad shoulders.

"Be careful, all right? You'll do splendidly, I know it, just take care of yourself and watch your back," he whispered into her ear, and she leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Don't you worry, Peter. I won't let Narnia down." she replied, finding no other words to say. When they pulled apart, she saw a thin layer of tears coating his aqua blue eyes and had to look away, for she knew if she looked for one second longer she, too would break down. And kings don't cry.

With a final squeeze and pat on the shoulder for Edmund, Peter ran out to join the spectating Narnians. Edmund and Penelope waited a few moments so things wouldn't look suspicious, and Penelope then began the march into battle.

As they cleared the How and broke into the shining field in which it sat, the cheers of the Narnias died down. All around them, beasts of all varieties as diverse as the land they lived in strained around each other to better view their 'king.' Penelope walked with a cool, measured gait, the gait she had observed her brother walked with when facing the army as a whole, or Caspian, or anything dealing with politics. She glared against the sun and kept her eyes focused straight ahead, on her opponent.

Miraz was sitting in a large, intricately designed wooden chair, dressed in full armor, his helmet on his lap and a crooked smirk on his face. He was surrounded by a group of three men, one of which held his sword and another, his shield. Miraz's shield wasn't like the one Penelope had strapped to her arm. It was round and decorated with bumps and wicked looking spikes, and was carved with tiny pictures of Telmarine soldiers doing battle against various opponents. Penelope stared at the shield warily, for she had a deep, gnawing feeling it was to be used against her in the fullest sense of the term.

Penelope and Edmund were feet from the arena by now. They passed Glenstorm, who raised his huge sword in salute to the two teenagers and gave a deep nod to Penelope. The eldest of the three Bulgy Bears, who had begged Penelope into agreeing to be one of her seconds, bowed as she walked by, his large paw held in his mouth. Penelope gave him a stern look and he caught himself, sheepishly pulling it out and hiding it behind his back.

They had reached the stone arena. Penelope stopped walking and stood with her shoulders squared and chest puffed out, bravely looking into the weathered face of her adversary. Miraz got to his feet and slammed his helmet onto his head, grabbing his sword and shield from his two seconds before stepping into the arena, ready for battle.

Penelope turned to Edmund and drew Rhindon from the sheath which he held out to her. The Narnians whooped and cheered behind her. Across from her, Miraz had also drawn his sword, but to the silence of his army. For a second, Penelope felt sorry for him, but then realized all he had done and came to the conclusion he deserved it. She stepped into the arena as the Narnian cheering died down.

The two monarchs circled each other, each sizing the other up. It was stiflingly hot under the heavy armor.

"There is still time to surrender," Miraz said.

Penelope cleared her throat and spoke in a gruff voice as low as she could get it. "Well go on, then." she muttered.

Miraz sneered. "How many more must die for the throne?"

"Just one!" Penelope snarled, before lunging forward. She brought Rhindon up above her head and slashed down, and Miraz met the blow with his sword. For a moment, the two stood pressing against each other, their swords screeching as the strained against one another, but Miraz gained the advantage and pushed Penelope back. Penelope stumbled, and in that moment Miraz brought up his shield and slammed it into her chest, sending her flying backwards into a pillar. Muffled shouts raised from the Narnian side-_he was not allowed to do that! _But no one could do anything to stop him, and after all, it was a duel to the death. The only rule here was to kill your opponent before they killed you.

Miraz stepped forward and slashed his sword out at Penelope's neck. Penelope ducked just in time and used the pillar to launch herself at Miraz, throwing him to the ground with her own body. Miraz stumbled and fell, and as he was down Penelope advanced and brought her sword down to his chest, but he covered himself with his shield and her sword collided straight down into it. The force of the blow sent a vibration back through Rhindon and into Penelope's arm, and she hissed and drew back, clutching her weakened elbow. Miraz rather clumsily sprang to his feet and charged with a cry, jumping down to one knee at the last second and simultaneously slamming his shield into Penelope's arm and slashing his sword blunt-side forward into her legs. Penelope let out a cry as the force of the shield hitting her arm pushed her elbow joint the wrong way with a crack, and the sword knocked her legs out from beneath her, sending her crashing to the ground. As she landed, Miraz sprang up again and slashed his sword down like a pendulum, cutting her side. Penelope cried out in pain and watched as Miraz flipped his sword in his hand and brought it down with deadly accuracy at her heart, but Penelope heaved herself onto her shoulders so that her legs were sticking up in the air, recoiled against her chest, and she kicked with both of them at the same time straight into Miraz's face.

Miraz screamed in agony as Penelope's feet collided with his face, and with an almighty _crunch!_ his nose and a few of his teeth were broken. The usurper fell back, clutching his face as blood spurted from his nose and mouth. He turned his head and spat out blood and the pieces of his front teeth, almost all of which had suffered at the feet of his adversary. He turned to one of his men and glared harshly at him, jerking his head in Penelope's direction. The man, who held a crossbow, inclined his head with an innocent expression, as if asking _"Yes, your Majesty?"_ Miraz's glare turned deadly, but was refocused on the duel as Penelope was once again on her feet and charging at him.

She ran straight past him and span a full circle, bringing her shield into his shoulder and slashing down at his leg. Miraz bellowed in fury; the cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to fully anger him and rededicate him to the fight. He span around before Penelope could move and backhanded her, snapping her head back and causing her to stumble away from him. He ran at her and, with the assistance of his shield, pushed her backwards across the arena and into a fallen pillar, where she collapsed against it. With a growl, Miraz brought his sword down at her, aiming to decapitate her, but she pushed herself backwards and jumped away before he could. Not to be discouraged, Miraz slashed at her, causing her to jump back again, but then Penelope went on the offense and brought Rhindon up over her head and down at him, but it merely hit his shoulder armor.

Then things took a turn for the worst for the Narnians. Miraz grabbed Penelope's arm as Rhindon hit his shoulder and twisted the already injured appendage to a horrible angle, ripping the sword from her grasp and snapping the joint out of place. Penelope shrieked as her elbow snapped and hung suspended at that crooked angle, pointed towards her while the rest of her arm went away from her. Miraz sneered down at her and threw her backwards, sending her slamming to the ground. He took Rhindon and stabbed it down into her left arm, pinning it down, and stepped onto her chest. He brought his sword slashing down at her face in the same pendulum move he had done before, aiming for her throat, but instead got a little higher and caught her chin and cheek. In the process, the sword ripped through the leather strap holding her helmet to her head, and the headpiece came loose, no longer strapped down. Miraz stepped off of her and flipped his sword in his hand, preparing to end the duel and finish her off, but with great difficulty she tore Rhindon from her arm and threw it to the side, rolling from beneath his blow to safety.

Penelope rolled away and jumped to her feet, caressing her injured arm to her and watching as Miraz's sword slammed into the stone ground, bouncing off harmlessly. He wasted no time in assaulting her again, slashing at her throat. She leant away from it with lightening speed, and watched in surprise as Miraz froze, his eyes beginning to bulge from his head. His seconds all stepped forward into the arena as well, coming to flank their king and all wearing the same expression as if they had just seen a ghost. Penelope risked a glance back to the Narnians, and saw them all watching her with horrified expressions. Some of them looked angry, but most of them looked shocked and fearful. She turned to Edmund, and saw that he was frozen on the spot, his brown eyes bugging from his head and his skin paled. Peter, under the guise of a young Telmarine, was stepping toward the front of the Narnians to get a better look, his expression also horrified. The sound of horse hoofs filled the echoing silence, and Penelope saw from the corner of her eye Caspian riding in on a brown horse, Susan sitting with her arms around his waist behind him.

Penelope turned back to Miraz, unsure of what was going on, and in the same deep Peter-voice said, "Does the usurper need a respite?"

Miraz's shocked expression turned to one of fury in that instant. "No, but I am sure you would like one. That arm looks as if it needs some medical attention, and I would not advise the High Queen to fight on it, seeing as her life is so valuable to the Narnians she is fighting for."

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**Review please, they make me happy :D**


	24. Chapter 23 Duels,Deals,and Deception

*Chapter 23 Duels, Deals, and Deceptions*

**Hello all! :D Gabby's on break and ready to part-ay like its 1300 BC(before CASPIAN) Haha, Narnian humor. Thank you, thank you, Ill be here all week :D**

**Wellllllllls I don't got much to say other than thanks to all who reviewed last chappie, and that you all should go check out EPIC by HILLBILLYHUNTERS. The titles pretty self explanatory.**

**Now, as usual, ENJOY OR DIE, MY PRETTIES.**

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Silence rang through the thousands of men gathered to watch the duel. Miraz glared down at Penelope with hatred radiating from his black eyes, the blood dripping from his nose and mouth giving him a truly terrifying appearance. Penelope stared up at him with fearful blue eyes that flashed with a hint of defiance, her grip on Rhindon tightening even further. She was unsure as to what she should do now, and felt her face growing red under the scrutiny of both the Narnians and the Telmarines. Miraz had offered her a respite, and yet she stayed where she was. For all she knew, the second she turned her back to him he could run her through with his sword. And she did not want to seem so willing for the respite and come across as weak in the face of her enemy.

"Well," Miraz hissed. "Are you going to take me up on my generous offer, or would you rather we continue the duel right now? I did not expect you to be in possession of much intelligence, but choosing the latter would be a decision I would think even you would not be so simple as to make."

One of the seconds which stood at his side sneered, and Penelope felt her brows crash together in a furious frown. She very nearly brought her sword through his throat then and there, forever silencing the crude usurper, but the screeching pain in her elbow held her back. Instead she nodded curtly, wincing as she felt fresh blood squeeze from the wound under her chin, and asked,

"How long does his ever doting usurper permit me to rest?"

Miraz's eyes narrowed into two piercing slits, and in response he growled, "Five minutes, no more nor less. And I mean _only_ five minutes. You Narnians seem to have problems upholding your end of bargains."

Penelope had a furious response on her tongue, but took a deep, calming breath and turned away from the Telmarines. As she slowly shuffled back to her side of the arena, she caught part of their conversation.

"Treachery," hissed one of the men lowly. "His majesty should not permit them to get away with this. Something should be done."

"And what do you suggest, Sopespian?" came Miraz's furious response. Then their conversation was drowned out by the uproar coming from the Narnian army, and the dull ringing in Penelope's ears.

Penelope collapsed into a chair Edmund had pulled up for her, weariness coursing through her. She heard frantic voices around her, and turned to see Edmund tearing a cloth into strips to make bandages and Caspian, Susan, and Peter all racing towards her. She noticed something was missing, and at the same moment she and Peter rounded on Susan.

"Lucy?" they both demanded, drawing a wince from their sister at their similar sharp tones.

"Don't worry, she got through," Susan muttered gruffly, glancing at Caspian. Penelope sensed she wasn't sharing something with them, but Peter was past caring as soon as he had established his youngest sister was safe. Penelope saw the slight hurt in Susan's eyes, and silently cursed Peter for his neglect toward the middle Pevensie sister.

"Are you alright?" Penelope asked of her. Susan turned to her with warm appreciation shining in her eyes, and Penelope felt sympathy for her. Susan was often pushed to the side and forgotten, and was definitely at the bottom of the sibling hierarchy. Penelope made a mental note to talk to Peter about the way he treated her sometime.

"I'm alright. The men ambushed us and I stayed behind so Lucy could get away. They didn't hurt me though." replied the beautiful brunette, still looking at Penelope in warmth. Penelope felt fear prick her stomach as she realized how close to dying Susan had come, and regarded warmly just how brave she had been. She glanced at Peter and saw him staring dumbstruck at Susan. Clearly the thought hadn't occurred to him that Susan might have been in danger, too.

Iridescent ran over from where she had been standing with the speculating Narnians. Her expression was clouded, her eyes hard to read.

"They aren't happy," she murmured to the royals, throwing a glance back to the Narnians as Edmund began dressing Penelope's cuts. "They feel like we lied to them."

"But we didn't," Penelope replied indignantly. "We were just doing what we thought was best, and it's not our fault if they gossip so much that it was a risk the Telmarines might overhear the plans." Though her tone was bitter, warm love spread through her at the thought of the chattering Narnians. She could never really be mad at them. They were her people.

"As if telling them that will make the situation better." Iridescent snorted, then she shook her head. "Well what now? The entire plan is ruined."

"There's still a chance," Peter retorted, though he looked as if this was the last thing he was thinking. Iridescent rounded on him.

"Are you kidding? Have you _seen_ the state your sister is in?!" she snarled, jerking her thumb at Penelope, who was clutching her elbow to her and grinding her teeth together. "She's in no shape to continue fighting! She'll die!"

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Penelope remarked bitterly as Edmund grabbed her elbow and prepared to jerk it back into place.

"Brace yourself, Penny," Edmund murmured under his breath to his sister, preparing to pop her displaced joint in place.

"Penelope might be beat up, but she's not going to lose. You saw the way she was fighting! When he was being fair she completely had the upper hand! Just watch, Edmund will fix her up and she'll rest for a bit, and regain her strength, and then we'll get her in there and she'll stomp him!" Peter was insisting, drawing Penelope's attention back to their argument. She was flattered by the absolute trust Peter had in her, but felt it was undeserved. All she felt she had the strength to do at that moment was curl up in a ball and take a nap.

Iridescent snorted contemptuously. "Right. And everything will be fine and dandy, just like it was with that night raid, eh?"

Peter looked as if someone had socked him in the stomach, and his blue eyes flashed with the first flames of fury. Penelope felt cold dread claw its way into her stomach as she watched the two, who were mere moments away from a fight.

"You guys, stop it! This is no time for a-YEEEEEEWOTCH!!!!" she cut off with a yelp of pain as Edmund, who had taken advantage of the distraction, popped her elbow back into place. She glared up at him as he flexed the arm, making sure it was alright with a sheepish look on his face. "Why you-" she began threateningly.

"Sorry, Penny, it had to be done," Edmund replied with a shrug, brown eyes twinkling as he stepped into the arena and grabbed her helmet. Peter was watching her with concern now, blue eyes foggy as he gnawed his bottom lip.

"D'you think we could give her some of Lucy's cordial?" he asked of Susan, who looked hopeful.

"I doubt it," Edmund piped in before she could reply, coming to stand beside his brother. "It only works on fatal wounds, and she's just worn down. Besides, I thought Lucy took it with her when you two rode off to find Aslan."

Peter sighed noisily in response. "Do you think you're alright to keep fighting?" he asked Penelope directly. Everyone turned to her as she sat and listened to her body for a moment, checking the various aches and pains. Her elbow was killing her, and muscles she didn't know she even had were screaming in protest at her every movements, but she knew she had to keep fighting. After a moment, she offered the best response she could.

"For a while longer."

Peter nodded slowly, expression thoughtful. "Well then that settles it," he murmured. He grabbed the sword belt from Edmund and began putting it around his waist, much to everyone's confusion.

"What are you doing?" Susan demanded, watching her brother gear up. He took off the Telmarine helmet and pulled off the brown wig he had been wearing, shaking his blond hair free and brushing his bangs into place.

Peter responded without looking at her. "Penelope can't fight. I'm going to go in and finish the duel for her. After all, they already know it's her fighting."

Penelope rounded on him, anger shining in her eyes. "Excuse me? I'm going to be the one to finish this duel, like I said I would. It defeats the whole purpose of me fighting so you don't get hurt if you end up fighting anyways."

Peter held her angry gaze steadily. "It's too dangerous, and you're hurt. Besides, we're fighting for Narnia to win, and that's not going to happen if you're fighting on a dislocated elbow."

"But Peter, the point is for _me_ to fight!" Penelope insisted. Peter opened his mouth to reply, but before the argument could continue any further, a sharp bark rang out from across the arena.

"Narnians!" The royals turned to see Miraz limping across the arena towards them, flanked by Glozelle and Sopespian. "You have broken one of the oldest Telmarine laws! This cannot go unpunished!"

Silence rang across the field. The group of young royals stared dumbly at the usurper as he came to stand before them, a smug grin on his face.

"And what exactly did we do?" Penelope called, getting to her feet.

"The charge," it was Lord Sopespian who spoke. He had a slow, drawling voice, and he sounded-and looked, for that matter-very bored. "Is impersonating a ruler and going against the agreements of the duel. Impersonating a ruler is one of the highest offenses in Telmarine traditions."

Penelope felt a lump form in her throat. "But we weren't doing it to deceive you.." she said meekly, but the Telmarines seemed not to have heard her.

"Under normal circumstances, we would have the right to kill the impersonator. But, seeing as you are a Narnian, and were therefore unaware of our customs, we have decided to be merciful and spare you," Miraz was saying. He turned his gleaming black eyes on Caspian. "Caspian, on the other hand, knew full well about this tradition, and we are therefore inclined to find the offense inexcusable. We are choosing to end this duel here and take Caspian back to our camp with us as our prisoner. We will continue the duel, in an honorable fashion, on another date."

Edmund was the first to react. "That's ridiculous! You can't have him!" he spat, face flushing in his rage. The others were just as furious. Penelope wanted to murder all three of them for even suggesting it.

"Who are you to deny us our right?" Miraz snarled. There was a ringing as Edmund unsheathed his sword and stepped forward, only to be grabbed and pulled back by Caspian himself.

"Wait, Edmund, he is right." Caspian said softly. Penelope shot him a horrified look to find his face peacefully resigned, his dark brown eyes indecipherable. He couldn't be seriously considering agreeing to this..?

"What do you mean?" Susan gasped, her blue eyes widening.

Iridescent looked incredulous. "Caspian, you can't be serious?"

He looked down at her sternly. "I am. Miraz is right. We have broken their tradition, and it is their right to repayment for the offence. I will go."

"You have got to be kidding me," Peter hissed venomously. "If you agree our entire plan is ruined! You're going to honor them above us?"

Caspian's eyes flashed. "Their armies will attack immediately should they not get what they want. And besides, they are going to call the duel off. Penelope will be able to rest and then when the duel commences she will have more of a chance of winning. You can find someone to take my place in the battle."

Penelope was listening to him in horror. Then, as Peter delivered a cutting reply to him, she stepped away from the group and up to the three Telmarines.

"You can have me instead." she said, her voice steadier than she expected it to be, for which she was grateful. "After all, I am the one who committed the treason."

Miraz's eyes flashed, then gained a calculating gleam as they looked down at the young girl before him. He turned to Sopespian, who nodded with a smirk on his face.

"Very well. We will take the girl as our retribution for the offense against our tradition." Miraz raised his voice so it rang out to both armies. From behind her, Penelope heard a sword being unsheathed, and at that moment Peter jerked her back and stood in front of her.

"Try and take her!" he barked at Miraz, who drew his lip back in a sneer.

"Peter!" Penelope shouted, spinning her twin around to face her. "Stop it! I have to do this."

"No you don't! Penelope, they'll kill you!" Peter cried, his voice breaking. Penelope sensed, through the special bond they felt as twins, that he was thinking back to the raid and her near death at the hands of the Telmarines, and felt her heart break at the pain she knew her brother still felt at the memories of it. But she had to do this.

"I need to protect Caspian." she said. Peter's eyes flashed in fury.

"Why do you always think you need to protect everyone?!" he demanded.

Penelope winced, and when she spoke her voice was wavering. "I just have to. It's my prophecy. I can't let anything happen to Caspian."

At the mention of the prophecy, Peter's shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no changing what she was doing if Aslan had willed it. He stood silently for a moment before turning to Miraz, who was smugly watching the exchange.

"If you kill her.." he began threateningly, although his voice didn't have its usual power. He looked utterly lost for hope, as if he were giving his soul over to the Telmarines along with his sister.

Miraz rolled his eyes. "We will not kill her." he said, shrugging at the sharp looks he got from Sopespian and Glozelle. "And what of the duel?"

After a moment of deliberating silence, Peter answered. "We will meet you again here in three days, again at the high noon. I will fight you, and the prize shall again be total surrender and the freedom of my sister. If we win, you and your armies surrender and you return Penelope without a single scratch or bruise on her. If you win, we will surrender and Penelope is..yours. Do we have an accord?"

Miraz nodded curtly, still smirking cockily. "Very well. And I expect you to keep your word this time," he added with a sneer.

"As do we, regarding Penelope's safety in your camps," Edmund snarled from where he stood.

"Yes, yes, alright. We will be leaving then. Until noon on the third day, High King Peter," Miraz said, sarcasm tainting his tone. Penelope turned to say her goodbyes to her friends, but Glozelle grabbed her arm and tugged her away, following Miraz as he stormed over to a waiting stallion. As her hands were bound with rope and she was hoisted onto the back of the horse behind the general, she turned to catch a final glimpse of the Narnians over her shoulder. Peter, Edmund, Caspian, Susan and Iridescent were all standing exactly as they had been, all frozen to the spot and watching the group as they took off for the Telmarine camp. Penelope kept her eyes on them as they galloped through the field, watching them for as long as she could until the How and all the Narnians disappeared from sight as the trees closed in around their party.

**Hope ya liked it. Please review and leave me your thoughts. Love yas! :D**


	25. Chapter 24 Loneliness and Lion's Roars

*Chapter 24- Loneliness and Lion's Roars*

**Hello all! Gabby's back and ready for action! I'm on summer break, offering an unlimited amount of time to get me creative juices aflowin'. You know what that means..**

**More updates! Huzzah!**

**Btw-have I told y'all about that crazy awesome new fanfic by HILLBILLYHUNTERS, called EPIC? I have? Ok good, now go and read it ^.^**

**Anywho, on with the story..!**

Silence still rang about the clearing as the Narnian army watched the Telmarines ride away into the forest with their future queen as their ransom. What was left of the young royals stood frozen as their shell shocked minds wrapped around what had just taken place. Then, after what could have been hours or mere minutes, the silence was shattered by the loud, piercing sound of metal slamming down upon stone. All eyes turned to Caspian, who had swatted the helmet Edmund was holding from his hands with a venomous force. The young Telmarine then turned and headed for the nearest stone pillar and swung his foot up against it, that same moment emitting a screech of pain and fury as his leather clad toes cracked loudly and achingly. Iridescent, whose elven mind worked fastest through the shock, sprang forward and grabbed Caspian in a surprisingly forceful grip, stopping him from causing himself any more pain.

"Now just what do you think you're doing?" she hissed sharply in his ear. Fearful, urgent whispers were rising from the gathered Narnians as they watched their monarch's resolve crumple around him.

Caspian did not offer a reply, instead tried jerking free of her grip. His face was twisted in his rage, and Iridescent could see the many emotions coursing through him playing in his dark eyes: an unspeakable fury to an unfathomable sadness, betrayal to a yearning to trust, hopelessness to a raging determination, and the one that dominated the others; Caspian's torturous heartbreak. All at once, Iridescent was reminded of all the times he and Penelope had trained together, all their stolen looks and secret smiles. And suddenly she knew exactly what it was Caspian thought he was doing.

"Oi, come on, love, let's get you inside the How and get that foot looked at. We'll get you a good meal and calm your nerves. Come on." she said in a voice softened by the sudden maternal instincts she felt radiating through her. She turned to the others, who were each watching Caspian with similar expressions of incredulity and compassion in equal terms, and indicated that they, too, should head for the How. In an instant, Susan was at Caspian's other side, wrapping her arm around his waist in support and comfort alike, and together she and Iridescent helped the crushed prince limp down the sloping pathway. Edmund and Peter followed closely behind after stopping to collect the helmet and chair from the arena, and as they passed the huddled and whispering Narnians Peter raised his voice to address them.

"Well, go on, there's nothing more to see here! Go and find yourselves some food and start preparing for battle."

At once all manner of creatures, still muttering, went hurrying in a mass crowd into the How, keeping a careful distance from their shattered royals. Iridescent, Susan, and Caspian headed, predictably, for the chamber of the Stone Table, the unofficial headquarters of the monarchs, with Edmund and Peter hot on their trail. Susan grabbed a torch from its holders in the walls and the two lead Caspian forward into the dim chamber. Susan slipped away to light the other torches adorning the walls, adding to the light of the troth of fire running the perimeter of the room, while Iridescent moved forward with Caspian. She propped him up against the Stone Table, where he promptly slumped to a defeated heap on the floor with his head resting against the ancient stone. Iridescent crouched before him as Peter and Edmund came and sat on the table near them and drew forth a small flask from her belt. Caspian stared uncomprehendingly at it for a few moments before Iridescent lost her patience.

"Take it," she murmured, an edge creeping into her voice. "It'll help with the shock."

With the same blank look in his eyes, Caspian reached for the flask, uncorking it and taking a hesitant swig. He paused, considering the taste, and the others watched as his whole body relaxed and he took another, longer drink.

"Alcohol?" Edmund asked ruefully. Iridescent shot him a dark smirk over her shoulder, not quite taking her eyes off Caspian.

"_Vinum. _One of the richest, most alluring wines among the elves. It'll help him, just you watch."

"You're getting him drunk?" Susan demanded incredulously. She never was one for excessive alcohol use.

"You could put it that way," said Iridescent none too helpfully.

After a few moments, the effect of the alcohol became evident. Caspian's eyes were full of emotion and focused on something none of the others could see, and his mouth was moving without the accompaniment of words as he slumped further down. Edmund, growing uncomfortable watching his friend in his moment of utmost weakness, tried to start a conversation.

"Well, congratulations, Iridescent, you've successfully made Caspian lose his mind." he said, trying to sound robust but coming off as highly uncomfortable.

Before Iridescent could respond, the man of the conversation put sound to his mutterings. "Lose.. lost.. gone… she's gone.." he said in a hoarse, cracking voice. Iridescent shot Edmund a reprimanding look before turning back to the stricken prince.

"Don't worry, Caspian," she consoled him gently. "We're going to get her back in three days, on the day of the duel. She'll be fine."

"Three days," Caspian's slurred voice sharpened and gained a harsh edge to it. "Three days she is going to be alone with Miraz and his men, with _Telmarines,_ and you're trying to tell me she's going to be alright?" He threw his head back in a mirthless laugh. "You might as well have said there are three days left until her execution date."

Peter, standing nearby, flinched at that and felt his infamous temper begin to flair up; visible in the squaring of his shoulders and reddening of his cheeks. This didn't go unnoticed by Susan, who could read her brother like a favorite book, and in a heartbeat she was detouring the conversation to herself before he got the chance to speak.

"Caspian, we don't know what they're doing over there. And they promised that they wouldn't hurt her. So what use is there to sit around and make up the worst possible scenarios when we very well could be wrong?" she said in a logical tone, kneeling down next to Caspian. The prince looked up at her with foggy brown eyes, but didn't say anything in response. Iridescent let out a sigh and came to kneel next to Susan, putting a hand on Caspian's knee to get his attention.

"Look here, Caspian," she began, "You will remember that I'm Penelope's Patronus? Well that means that wherever she is, no matter what she's doing and what situation she's in, I have a sense of her wellbeing."

Caspian looked up at her with a keen interest. "So that means.."

Iridescent finished his thought. "That means that if she were in any kind of danger, I would know."

Caspian sat forward, grasping Iridescent's arm in his hand. "How is she now? Is she alright?" he demanded urgently. The elf complacently nodded her head, prying his fingers from her arm as she did so. Caspian let out a small sigh before leaning back against the Stone Table, closing his eyes as if to fall asleep.

"Let us pray to Aslan that they uphold their promise." he said softly before allowing himself to drift off into an exhausted sleep, all the while consumed by a gnawing feeling of loneliness.

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Miraz and his band of Telmarines pushed through the woods, arriving at a bustling camp to the sound of horns and cheering. Penelope watched as Miraz pushed his horse forward, flashing a toothy grin at his men as they chanted his name; to them, he was the hero of the day. As the horse she was on pulled into the camp, Miraz turned and pointed to the back of the horse where Penelope sat, a sneer pulling on his mouth.

"See the girl on Glozelle's horse? _That_ is who the Narnians are depending on to save them from us. It looks like they put their money on the wrong mare, for now we have her in our grasp and it is she that needs to be saved!"

The Telmarines roared in laughter, looking at Penelope with cold, mirthless eyes. As she sat on the back of the general's horse, surrounded by the sea of thousands of men laughing at her expense, Penelope was suddenly overcome with the feeling that she was utterly and completely alone.

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Lucy felt tears sting her eyes as she pushed Destrier onward, at a pace that was reminiscent of the noble cheetahs that had always been a part of the Narnian army. The horse was galloping faster than she had ever seen any horse go before, making her lurch around on his back and feel as if she might be sick. All the while, she was aware that the faster the horse went, the more space he was putting between herself and her sister.

The tears that pricked her stinging eyes poured over at the thought of Susan, who had stopped the horse and stayed behind in order to stop the Telmarines from getting to Lucy. Had she stopped the Telmarines as she had intended to do? Or had they overcome her? Would Lucy see her sister again? The image of her standing all alone in the middle of the clearing, light pooling around her as she drew her bow from her quiver, filled Lucy's mind as her final words rang in her ears. 'I'm sorry, Lucy,' she had said in a voice full of resolve, her ice blue eyes deadly calm, 'But it looks as if you'll be going alone, after all.'

Lucy felt very much alone as she and Destrier raced through the forest in hot pursuit of the one being who could set things right in Narnia. But so far, Lucy had not seen so much as a whisker of the Great Lion. And the ever faithful, valiant little girl could not help but ask herself: was He even there to find?

A sharp cry behind her caught Lucy's attention, and she turned to see a lone Telmarine in hot pursuit of her, his horse quickly covering the distance between them. Instantly, Lucy's thoughts went to Susan-what had happened that she had not killed this man? An image of her older sister, cut down by this soldier's sword and dying, all alone in that clearing, filled Lucy's mind, and the flood of hot tears that leaked from her eyes blurred her vision. All at once, she was aware that Destrier was losing speed, exhausted from the extensive pace, and the Telmarine was gaining on her. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lucy realized she was not going to make it to Aslan.

A low snarling came suddenly from her left. Lucy's head snapped to the side where she saw, charging through the underbrush as if it weren't there at all and traveling twice the speed of the racing horses, a huge lion. Her heart skipped a beat and her mind froze as, in two great strides, the lion cleared the distance between itself and her and was suddenly before her on a raised section of the forest floor, its jaws gaping open in a tremendous roar. Lucy shrieked as Destrier let out an alarmed whinny and reared back, tossing his rider from his back before taking off in fright. Lucy recovered herself from her fall and looked up into the eyes of Aslan as he stared down at her with his piercing gaze. The look only lasted a heartbeat before he gathered his haunches and leapt clear over her head, soaring through the air and crashing into the Telmarine soldier. The man let out a screech as Aslan grabbed him in his paws and threw him off the back of his still-running horse, toppling him to the ground. Aslan didn't do anymore than snarl fiercely at him, however, and the petrified Telmarine sprinted away on wobbly legs.

Lucy, who had watched the whole thing frozen to the spot, quickly recovered her wits as a smile spread across her face. As Aslan, still snarling in the direction of the Telmarine, swung his majestic head around to her, she rose to her feet and called his name before charging at him. When she reached him, Lucy threw her arms around his neck and tackled him to the ground, and for a while the two simply sat and hugged each other, laughing as they did so. As Lucy hugged him, she could feel his presence pouring strength into her, and her frantic heartbeat slowed back to its normal pace.

After a while, she leaned back from him and shot him a beaming smile. "Oh, Aslan, I _knew_ it was you! The whole time, I knew it!" she cried. Then her smile dropped and her voice sounded unsure. "But… the others wouldn't believe me."

The Lion looked down at her with stern, but nonetheless gentle, eyes. "But why would that stop you from coming to me?" he inquired.

Lucy shrank somewhat, her face beat red and guilty. "I.. I was too scared to come alone." she admitted, not quite meeting Aslan's eyes. Silence engulfed them as realization, then horror filled Lucy's face. "If I had come earlier, would all those people who died… could I have stopped that?" she asked in a small voice choked with pain.

Aslan's eyes were full of painful remorse as he looked down at the little queen. "We can never know what would have happened, Lucy." he spoke slowly, softly, his statement answering Lucy's question but at the same time pardoning her for her mistakes. A moment later, his eyes gleamed and he hauled himself onto his paws, looking down at Lucy almost mischievously. "But what will happen is another matter entirely. Now then, I think your friends have slept long enough, don't you?" and with that, Aslan shook his mane and threw back his head in a ground shaking roar.

As the echoes of the roar spread through the forest, and surely all of Narnia, Lucy became aware of misty shapes emerging from all around, slowly making their way toward the clearing in which she and Aslan sat. As they came closer, Lucy became aware that they were all singing, their sweet, somewhat eerie voices rising up in an old Narnian tune. It was when the figures stepped into the light of the clearing, their singing reaching a crescendo, that Lucy recognized them for who they were-they were the people of the trees, the Dryads who had not been heard of for more than a thousand years. There were oaks and dogwoods and willows and elms, and many more from our world and an even greater number that were only indigenous to Narnia. As the spirits of the trees poured into the clearing, Lucy sprang to her feet and found herself singing along with them, and instantaneously a great dance broke out. It was a wild, fevered dance one could only partake in if one was dancing with the spirits of nature. As Lucy weaved between partners, dancing almost as gracefully as the willows themselves, more newly awakened spirits gathered into the clearing, all singing the same tune and all joining in the great dance. Among the more notable of the arrivals were the Niads, those spirits of water who had long since spread to other bodies of water, some sprites and other fairy-folk, Bacchus and his gang of giggling girls, an old fat man on a donkey whose name was Silenus(these two were not immediately recognized by Lucy, and it took her a long time before she remembered Mr. Tumnus telling her tales of them during her reign as queen), and even some Elves. The stream of new arrivals was never-ending, the dancing and singing endless, and it was sundown when Lucy finally managed to make her way through the crowd to Aslan.

"Dear Aslan," she cried, her voice ringing with merriment. "However is this to help my family back at the How?"

Aslan gave a chuckle. "I have awoken the trees and the spirits of those who represent Old Narnia and have long been gone from it. It is with their help that, when the time comes for a battle with the Telmarines, we will win."

That explanation was enough to sooth Lucy's nerves and send her back into the throng of dancers, where she participated in the festivities well into the night. And strangely, no thoughts of the impending battle and the Telmarine threat crossed her mind the whole time.

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Peter sat on the Stone Table, looking up at the carving of Aslan searchingly. His shoulders drooped as he rubbed his eyes, trying to fight the numbness that was consuming him. After hours of debate with Caspian, Edmund, Glenstorm, and many others over a plan of action for the looming battle, he was completely worn out and, in every sense of the phrase, dangling from the end of his rope. So many different worries were pressing him from every direction, and he suddenly, and perhaps for the first time this journey to Narnia, found himself shrinking from the title of High King.

Of course, that's not to say that he was going to shirk his responsibilities and leave the task of freeing the Narnians up to someone else. Aslan knows that that was the last thing Peter would do, and he would make sure he died fighting to get them salvation. After all, they were his people.

It was just that at that particular moment in time, Peter was feeling the weight of his responsibilities come crashing down on him like an avalanche. So much was depending on him and this upcoming duel, which he knew, as much as his rather large ego hated to admit, he would most likely lose. He was tired, he was stressed, and he was losing his faith that things would turn out for the better.

For what did he have to make him believe? His twin sister was lost to the Telmarine camp and facing unknown tortures; his younger sister had almost been killed as she stayed behind in the forest to face the onslaught of Telmarines; and his baby sister was wandering the woods trying to find someone who most likely wasn't there to be found. Peter loved each of his sisters almost to a fault, and the idea of losing even one of them was torturous.

He could only take consolation in the fact that Susan had not been killed and was back with him, and that Edmund, his only brother, was also safe and in his eyesight.

However, as consoling as this was, it still did not bring his two lost sisters back to him. He had almost sent a patrol out in search of Lucy, but Susan and Caspian had convinced him that she was safe and would find Aslan(Susan), and anyways they did not have the men to spare(Caspian.)

Penelope, on the other hand, was just across the field and could very well be rescued.

Peter shook his head. It was not the first time the thought had crossed his mind that night; indeed, it was always burning in the back of his brain, and it made frequent trips to the front most of his mind, consuming his thoughts with daring plans of rescue, before retreating again to the back to lurk in the shadows. But as much as he might entertain the idea of a rescue, he knew to actually put it to action would be absolutely impossible. They hadn't any room for more mistakes in this war. To do so would be treason in the eyes of Miraz and his men, and would be enough for them to launch an attack on the Narnians. And they were desperately unprepared for a battle even three days away, let alone a surprise one that night.

But… what if he didn't take her from the camp? What if he only went over to make sure she was unharmed, being taken care of?

Peter's heart skipped a beat at the idea. Surely, if he were careful and made sure he was unseen, he would be able to get away with it? After all, he technically wouldn't be doing anything wrong or treasonous. Just so long as he was careful.

_That's insane,_ the king in him said. _You would be risking way too much on not getting caught, not to mention the possibility of an attack on the How._

_But if you're careful…_ the compulsively protective older brother part of him argued stubbornly. _After all, you wouldn't stay long, only long enough to check and make sure she's alright, and maybe give her something to eat. You never know, they might not be feeding her._

It was the idea of his twin going the night without food that drove him to ignore the king part of him screaming protests, and creep stealthily out into the main chamber, keeping to the shadows so as to not be noticed. He was heading for the chamber where the food rations for the army were kept, along with all the medical supplies of the army.

Peter managed to make it undetected to the chamber, but as he quietly closed the door after himself, he turned and let out a shout of surprise. Sitting on one of the stones that served as a storage shelf for the food was Pattertwig the squirrel, stuffing a loaf of bread and lump of cheese into the little squirrel-sized knapsack he wore over his shoulder. At Peter's cry, he let out a shrill squeal of fright and jumped, spinning and freezing as he came face-to-face with his High King.

The two stood and stared at each other for a few moments before Peter gathered his wits, gazing curiously down at the squirrel. "And just what do you think you're doing?" he asked inquisitively.

Pattertwig's beady black eyes widened in alarm and he sputtered a few moments, looking from Peter to the knapsack in horror. Then his gaze came to rest on Peter, and his eyes were intense, yet guarded at the same time.

"May I tell Your Majesty without him getting angry?" the squirrel demanded in a surprisingly firm voice. For a moment, Peter was taken aback, but then realized he must feel familiar with him because he was Penelope's twin.

"Well I suppose that depends on what you have to say." he replied eventually.

The squirrel seemed to take that as a good enough answer. "I was going to go take Penelope some food."

Peter was shocked for a moment, and then let out a hearty laugh. "That's quite alright, Pattertwig," he said, still chuckling. "To be perfectly honest, I was just on my way to do the same."

Pattertwig's eyes widened at the thought of his monarch going against the agreement and sneaking off to the heart of the Telmarine camp, but after a moment he recovered himself and regained his usual spirit. "Well then, why don't we go together? I could go in first and scout out the camp to find her, and then you can come in with the food. That way I won't look as conspicuous and you can take her more food than I'd be able to carry." he chirped, his eyes bright.

Peter smiled. "That sounds like a brilliant plan."

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Penelope let out a sigh and leaned back against the tree she was tied to. After hours of sitting with her back ramrod straight against the tree, she longed to get up and stretch her legs, or at least adjust her position, for her bum was rather sore and her back aching. But the Telmarines would hear nothing of letting her up, and anyways she certainly was not going to demean herself by asking. No, she had made up her mind that she would take her imprisonment with a resolute stubbornness, and would not so much as look at any one of the Telmarines who came by to mock her. But this was becoming difficult, seeing as apparently mocking her had become a favorite past time of the men, for there was a seemingly never-ending stream of men who came by to point and laugh at the Narnian girl who had been traded for mercy from Miraz; at least, such was what the usurper was telling them.

Penelope let out another long, drawn out sigh. She was only a few hours into her imprisonment and already she was sore, angry, annoyed, and hungry. It was going to be a long three days.

A loud bought of laughter went up from some ways away from her, and Penelope glanced over to see a group of younger Telmarines, her two guards included, sitting around a fire and all guzzling what she could correctly assume was alcohol. The men were laughing raucously at one of their comrades, who was standing with his back turned to Penelope and who had started belting out some Telmarine song and making obscene gestures with his hands. Penelope snorted, leaning her head back against the tree once again and closing her eyes. These men were nothing more than teenagers out looking for a good time, which apparently could only be found in joining the army.

Penelope's mind was blanking and she was just drifting off to sleep when from behind her she heard a twig snap and a small voice call out to her. "Penelope!"

Her eyes snapped open, but she could not turn to address the voice. Feeling her heart rate pick up, she sat and waited for any other signs that she had actually heard something.

The voice came again, this time a bit louder. "Penelope!"

"Hello?" she whispered, trying to turn her head to get a glimpse of her mysterious visitor. There was a soft rustling and then a second voice sounded.

"Are there any guards near you?" Penelope shot a glance at the men around the fire, a good few meters away and all too drunk to pay her any mind.

"No," she whispered back.

There was once again the rustling of leaves, and then suddenly a dark figure was at her side. Penelope could just make out the face of her twin in the distant firelight.

"Peter!" she exclaimed, almost forgetting to keep her voice down. "What are you doing here?"

Peter hastily shushed her and they simultaneously shot the men at the fire sharp looks. They didn't seem to have noticed anything, however, and Penelope turned back to her brother with an anxious look on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated. "You're not going to try and break me out, are you? You know that wouldn't end well at all."

Peter lightly cuffed her on the head. "Of course not, I'm not stupid." he replied, earning a snicker from her. "We just came to check on you, to make sure you were alright."

"We?" Penelope asked incredulously, choosing not to comment on how typical the mission was of her twin. Just then, a very familiar squirrel scrambled up into her lap, nuzzling her stomach in greeting. "Pattertwig!" she cried, laughing at the appearance of her old friend. "I should have known."

"You can't honestly think I'd leave you here without making sure you had something to eat, you silly girl." the squirrel chirped. "I know how you get when you're hungry, and I don't think even Telmarines deserve to face that."

"As soon as my hands are untied, I'm decking you for that," she swore, a smile on her face all the same. She turned back to Peter. "You couldn't have brought a less cheeky accomplice?"

Peter smirked. "Would you rather me have brought Reepicheep?"

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Oh heavens! I think I'll stick with the squirrel."

Another loud round of laughter from the Telmarines at the fire caused the three to freeze, and Peter shrank further into the shadows. "Look, we can't stay long, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." he said, taking from his own, human-sized knapsack a fair serving of bread, cheese, and a small flask of wine. Seeing as Penelope's hands were tied to her sides, he broke the food down and fed it to her himself, much to her embarrassment. "So how are they treating you?"

Penelope paused to finish the bite of cheese she was chewing. "Alright, I suppose. They made a great deal of laughing at me almost all day, but so far they haven't so much as laid a hand on me, and the past few hours they've taken to ignoring me."

Peter closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. "Well thank Aslan they're letting you be." he murmured, looking at his twin with liquid eyes. "And what about food? Did they give you something to eat?"

"I haven't had so much as a whiff of food, other than what you've brought me." Penelope replied briskly, sounding peeved. What Pattertwig had said was true- there was hardly anything queenly about Penelope when she did not get food. "So thank Aslan you two had the sense to remember me, or else I might have had to start eating this tree."

Peter let out a laugh as he raised the flask of wine for her to drink. Once she had had her fill, he capped it and put it back in his knapsack, and turned to Penelope with reluctant eyes.

Penelope read the look instantly and felt the same remorse as her twin. "I suppose now you have to go?"

Peter nodded, leaning forward and wrapping his arm around her. "We'll come back whenever we get the chance tomorrow, I promise." he said solemnly, stroking Penelope's hair as she rested her head on his chest.

"Don't do anything stupid, Peter." she muttered, looking up at him with a slight frown. Peter chuckled and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Now when have I ever been known to do something stupid?" he asked jokingly. Penelope shot him a mock glare as Pattertwig clambered up onto her shoulder, nibbling her ear in his favorite affectionate manner.

"Bye, Penelope! We'll be back tomorrow!" he squeaked eagerly, rubbing his face against her cheek in that manner animals have when they're sharing affection.

"Bye, Pattertwig. Watch my brother for me, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, alright?" she said, shooting Peter a smirk over the squirrel's head. She returned her gaze to the squirrel with a wicked gleam in her eye. "On second thought, you're not one to keep someone else from doing something stupid."

Pattertwig let out an indignant trill and cuffed Penelope's cheek. Just then, the sound of footsteps from the direction of the fire snapped them to attention, and with a final glance Peter and Pattertwig slunk back into the shadows. Penelope watched them go from the corner of her eye before leaning her head against the tree, feigning sleep as her guard drunkenly stumbled over to check on her. It was not long after, that with a full belly and light heart, she slipped into unconsciousness, where she dreamed of a grand ball with dancing nature spirits and elves, and of a lion's roar.

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**Tada! Hope y'all liked it, cause I think this is perhaps my new favorite chapter :D I went more with the way the book plays out with the whole Lucy finding Aslan thing, cause it worked better with the plot. Anywho, review and let me know what you think! **


	26. Chapter 25 Getting Caught

*Chapter 25-Getting Caught*

**Hey everyone! I'm back! :)**

**Sorry for the delayed absence, been busy, had other stories, had writers block, blah blah blah...**

**REVIEWIFYOUREOUTTHERE.**

**Ima dedicate this one to my beta reader Kelsey for all her help and to Mystic Lover of the Fairytale for her constant support and help with the chapter. Love y'all!**

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The days between Penelope's capture and the upcoming duel flew by until finally, it was the night before Peter and Miraz would face off. As promised, Peter(most often than not accompanied by Pattertwig) had come with gifts of food multiple times every day for Penelope. It was a risky business, but Aslan was on their side and kept the Telmarines at bay for the duration of their visits.

Just after sunrise found the High King sneaking into the cave of the food rations, his knapsack slung over his shoulder and his sword on his hip. He was on his way to visit his sister, intent on not only taking her food but also receiving comfort. For though he would rather die than ever admit it to anyone else, Peter was nervous about the upcoming duel. He, like Penelope, knew the chances of him winning in a match against someone more than twice his age, who was not only a viciously skilled swordsman but also cheated to boot, were highly unlikely. Now, Peter wasn't arrogant(usually), but he knew he was perhaps the most skilled swordsman in all of the Narnian army. In a fair match with Miraz, he had little doubt he would win. But the fact that not only did Miraz himself cheat, but he also used his Marshalls to cheat, weighed the advantage heavily on Miraz's side.

All these thoughts were racing round in his head, and Peter was hardly paying attention to where he was going when he found himself smacking in to someone coming from the opposite direction of the path he was taking. With a loud grunt and a heavy glare, Peter backed up and looked into the face of this obstacle, a disgruntled apology on his lips. His words died on his lips, however, as he found himself face to face with Caspian.

The Telmarine prince was looking down on him with a bewildered expression. "Peter? What are you doing here?" he asked, curiosity evident in his thickly accented voice.

Peter stared up at him in horror and spluttered for a few moments before coming up with a plausible excuse. "I was just on my way to fetch provisions to take to the wounded soldiers." he replied, perhaps a little too quickly.

Caspian's face relaxed, though his eyes remained somewhat hazy. "Well that is very noble of you, High King. I won't hold you up." he said, before offering Peter a nod and continuing down the tunnel.

Peter stood rooted to the spot for a few moments, feeling cold sweat accumulating on his brow. He was almost certain Caspian was not going to believe him, and was perhaps for the first time more glad than not that he had proved him wrong. Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he quickly made his way to gather Penelope's meager meal, being more careful than ever not to be seen. Sparing not a moment, the High King slipped out of the How and in a fashion perfected by practice crossed undetected into the heart of the enemy camp.

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Caspian's mind was buzzing with suspicion at Peter's hastily yipped excuse for sneaking into the food rations, though outwardly he appeared to have no second thoughts upon the matter. Weaving his way past the notably disgruntled king, he couldn't help but notice as his arm brushed against him how tense Peter was. A small flag went off in Caspian's quickly working mind, though he kept his unsuspecting front as he continued on down the narrow pathway.

Caspian was no fool, and Peter was no liar. He was up to something that certainly had nothing to do with injured soldiers. Caspian had not failed to notice the knapsack on Peter's shoulder, nor the sword on his hip. That in and of itself was hint as to more long-term and dangerous ambitions.

Caspian had his guesses as to what Peter might be up to, though he could not be certain. Not without proof. And unfortunately in this situation, that proof would involve having to catch Peter in the act.

He had been on his way to check on the blacksmiths to see the progress of the armor and weapons, but instead he found himself heading toward the front of the How, for a little private archery training. After all, he would have a great vantage point of anyone trying to sneak to-or from-the How from the archery fields.

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Penelope heaved a great sigh and tried for the hundredth time to adjust herself to a more comfortable position, straining to take her weight off her aching bum. Fortunately for her, on one of his previous visits Peter had seen to loosening her bonds somewhat, allowing for less limited mobility. It was thus she was able to hoist herself onto her side, and though it was a somewhat awkward position to sit in, it offered abundant relief to her various aching body parts.

Her Telmarine captives were yet to free, feed, or offer any other types of humaneness, be it small or great. For the most part, the hundreds of Telmarine soldiers had taken to ignoring her, going about their business and passing her tree as if she weren't even there. Though that's not to say all of them ignored her-groups of them would occasionally gather before her and sneer derogatory things at her, some of which made her blood curdle and others of which made her face flush. Thankfully for the soldiers, they never chose to do so whilst Peter was in earshot, lest they be stabbed repeatedly on the spot.

Almost as soon as the thought of her twin had crossed her mind did she hear a familiar rustling of the leaves. Craning her neck around, she saw her own, slightly more masculine face peering anxiously from the shrubbery.

"Is anyone around?" Peter whispered softly. Penelope swiveled her head around to examine the camp, only to find not a soul in sight. Then she remembered hearing word of there being a mass training session, for Miraz and his henchmen to evaluate the skill of their army-every last Telmarine was further down in the forest, geared up and pinned against his companions, dueling for the approval of their leaders. It was almost too perfect for the two Narnian teenagers.

"No, and there won't be for a while." And as Peter crept forward into the clearing she relayed the news of the mass training to him.

Instead of looking relieved, Peter looked worried. "It sounds as if they're preparing for the battle." he observed, brows creasing.

Penelope was assaulted by a wave of raw emotion rolling off her twin. In a heartbeat, she felt bitter, uncertain, frightened, hopeless, and angry. Her mind flinched away from the powerful feelings, and she looked at Peter in bewildered concern.

"Something's bothering you," she stated, searching his face for a clue as to what it could be. Peter met her gaze for a moment, the crystal blue of their eyes pooling together as emotions and thoughts jolted between them in a matter of seconds, before looking away as he brought the knapsack off his shoulder. Digging around for a moment, he found the food he had grabbed for her and began tearing it up to feed to her. Penelope waited patiently for him to finish, for she knew he was doing it so as to be able to gather his thoughts.

Without meeting her gaze, Peter finally said what was the cause for the distress still rolling off of him in tangible waves. "I know it sounds childish, and I really have no right to be, but I'm really worried about how this duel is going to turn out."

Penelope said nothing, only continued to gaze at Peter steadily. At her lack of response, Peter continued talking. "I mean, I know that I'm good at fighting with a sword, but.. Seeing Miraz when he was fighting you the other day really got to me. He was very good, and that's not even touching on his ruthlessness. And plus he has his marshalls.."

Penelope frowned, thinking back to the day when it was she who was pinned against the usurper. Heading into the duel she had known it was a fight to the death, but that knowledge hit home only after she was face to face with him, the clashing of their swords ringing out across the field. It was only then she was fully aware that dying was a very likely possibility for her, and this possibility very nearly became her reality multiple times. As much drama as it had caused her and the entire rest of the Narnian army, she was glad that her helmet fell off.

Pondering on how brutal her own match against Miraz had been made her mouth dry out, along with any encouragement she could have offered. Penelope turned to Peter to acknowledge that she had heard him, but only felt her mouth go drier as she saw that he was waiting for some kind of response. She swallowed hard and tried to think of something, anything, she could say to help him not feel so down.

Peter seemed to take her hesitation for what it really was, for he just sighed and shook his head. He turned away from her and gnawed his lip, seemingly drowning in an abyss of heavy thoughts. Penelope watched as an army of emotions marched across his face.

"I just want to know what will happen if I'm..not here anymore." he whispered, sounding very close to tears. Penelope's throat constricted as she saw how very near to breaking he was, but as she was about to offer him words of comfort a rustling of the bushes behind them caused her to fall deathly silent. Having also heard the ruckus, Peter sprang to his feet and whipped his sword out of its sheath, ready to take down whoever the intruder was. She shrank down as if to hide herself and held her breath as whoever it was paused, then stepped fully out into the open.

The intruder let out an angry hiss and the sound of a sword sliding through a sheath filled the air. "I knew it."

Penelope's heart leaped into her throat and she let out an involuntary shriek as she turned and faced the angry Telmarine. "Caspian!"

For the soldier who had followed her brother was indeed of the Telmarine nationality, though not of that army. Caspian stood halfway between the bushes and Penelope's loan tree, glowering down on the scene of the twins guiltily facing he who they thought was a threat. Although the look on Caspian's face promised trouble yet to come, Penelope could not help but feel immense relief at the sight of him as opposed to one of Miraz's army. She looked to his hip to see his sword safely in its halter, not withdrawn as she had thought he had done when he first arrived. She found that a large smile had spread its way across her face, as one usually did when she found herself unexpectedly in Caspian's presence.

Sparks of irritation exploded from somewhere to her right, and she didn't have to look to see that Peter was bristling. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demanded sharply, wiping the smile straight off Penelope's face.

Caspian was not to be bullied, for he stepped right up to Peter's challenge with the same level of aggression and anger. "I should ask the same of you," he hissed, cutting Peter off even before he tried to retaliate. "You know damn well you are not supposed to be here, Peter. Now why are you here?"

"Caspian," Penelope interjected, as she herself was taken aback by the level of underlying authority with which he was addressing Peter. She could smell a fight brewing as well as a sailor could smell a coming storm.

Peter looked flabbergasted. It was all he could do but sputter for an answer for a few moments before finally concocting a coherent response. "I don't answer to you! I'm the High King!" There was no anger in his words, only shock.

Caspian's frown darkened, and Penelope watched as his resolve cracked and his calm exterior dissolved in a flash. "You and I both know the conditions upon which she was sent over here. We are not to be here, Peter, her life and the life of every man in our army is at risk with every moment we are over here! How could you take such risks just because you wanted to see her?"

"D'you think I'm stupid? I know how risky it was coming over here-believe it or not I do possess some level of intelligence! I was bringing her food because they weren't feeding her, Caspian, is that really so selfish of me?" Peter snapped in reply, his words growing dangerously louder as he went.

Penelope cast a nervous glance around the tranquil camp, fearing despite their absence that the Telmarines would hear the two quarrelling. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Miraz's tent flap open; she was sure they were caught. But a moment later and she saw an innocent rabbit dart across the clearing and she let out a deep breath of relief, feeling foolish now for her paranoia. Nonetheless, she felt Peter and Caspian had much overstayed their visit.

"Hey, you guys?" she called up to them, but Peter had his back to her and Caspian was talking too loud to hear her, so she was ignored.

"And how did you know she was not being fed?" Caspian was firing back in response to Peter's rhetorical questions, his voice rising even louder.

Peter fell silent for a moment, knowing he was caught. Moments went by before he said anything, and Penelope turned to see Caspian giving him a gloating look.

"Well, Peter? Are you going to answer me or not? Or can you not answer me, becau-"

"Shh!" Peter hissed lowly, slapping his hand across Caspian's mouth. Caspian scowled and shoved Peter's hand away, looking deeply angered his victory speech had been cut short but remaining silent nonetheless. Peter half turned away from Caspian so he was facing Penelope, his perked ear facing the camp.

"What is it?" Penelope whispered. His only response was a finger to his lips, and he froze with a look of deep concentration on his face. Penelope met Caspian's confused scowl with a look of worried confusion, when suddenly her head snapped back around to the camp and her blood ran cold. For in the not too far off distance she could hear what had made Peter react so strangely; the sound of many men dragging their feet through the forest, slowly making their way back to camp after a long morning of training. It was the Telmarine army.

Peter was kneeling at her side, collecting his knapsack and what was left of her breakfast. "I thought you said they'd be gone for a while yet!" he hissed in her ear.

"I thought they would, they seemed to be making a great deal of it!" she replied frantically.

"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked, sounding one step behind.

"The Telmarines are coming back," Peter replied shortly, not looking up at him as he spoke.

"I had figured that much out on my own," Caspian shot back hotly, giving Peter a nasty look. "I meant why have they been gone so long."

"They were having a mass training session with all their men for a few hours. I thought they would have been gone much longer, but apparently they don't want to overwork themselves." Penelope said, answering his question. His expression softened as he met her gaze and they stayed like that for a few moments before the noises of the approaching army became more pronounced, the danger even more real. "You two need to get out of here!" she said, her voice rising in the first notes of panic.

Peter threw his knapsack over his shoulder and stood to leave, fear obvious in his face. "You'll be alright?"

"That depends on if you all get out of here!" she hissed, smiling tightly up at the two to show there were no ill meanings. Peter gave a small nod and shoved into Caspian, turning him in the direction to leave but Caspian let him pass without moving. He looked up at the impending army, back down to Penelope, back to the army, and then in a flash was at her side. He whipped out a dagger and began furiously sawing at her bonds, causing both her and Peter to give cries of surprise.

"Caspian, what are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Are you insane?" Peter barked. Penelope looked up at him to see her own expression of dumbfounded disbelieve slapped across his face.

"I am not leaving her here! She has been here far too long as it is, I cannot stand the idea of her staying in this hellhole!" Caspian fired over his shoulder at Peter, sounding possessed. Peter let out a sigh and kneeled before her, cutting at the ropes on her ankles with the same intense fury as Caspian.

"You _are_ insane," he grumbled, glowering at Caspian.

Penelope's heart rate accelerated as Peter's knife broke through the thinner bunch of ropes at her ankles first and he stood, starting for the woods. She looked to the clearing and felt a cold sweat break across her forehead as she saw the dark shapes of an approaching mass of men making its way through the trees, their conversations distinct enough to be clearly made out. "Hurry, Caspian!"

"Caspian, come on!" Peter cried, his voice breaking.

"Hey! Who are those men by the prisoner?"

"What are they doing?"

The three Narnians froze and shot each other terrified looks, realizing their game was up. They had been caught.

For Penelope, things seemed to move in hyper speed, yet she caught every minute detail of it. As she caught sight of the men who had caught sight of them, she pushed herself to her feet, fighting against Caspian as he still worked to break the rope. Peter drew his sword and stepped before Penelope, offering protection should any of the men decided to charge; lucky for them they were at the moment befuddled by the situation. However, their tiny stroke of luck did not hold out, for Miraz's head minions, Glozelle and Sopespian, shoved their way forward in the crowd and beheld the mutiny which was unfolding right beneath their noses. Simultaneously they gave their war cries, and their men instantaneously rushed forward like a river breaking a dam. At the same moment Peter yelped at Caspian to get her undone and she herself have an unintelligible shriek of sheer panic, Caspian's knife cleared the last threads of rope and she was free.

Penelope for a moment stood and stared at the onrush of Telmarines before Peter had her arm in a vice-like grip and was dragging her behind him, Caspian following right behind with his palm on the small of her back. Her brain was filled with a numb buzzing as it tried to keep up with the hectic and deathly turn of events, and as she pushed her feet faster than she had ever urged them before her brain fell behind the pace. Though she registered what was going on, the overwhelming numbness of fear blotched out any capabilities of comprehending the events taking place. She was aware of the sounds of their heavy breathing and clumsy footsteps as they crashed through the forest. She ran faster than ever in her life, to the point where she was sure if she tried to go any faster she would implod, yet each time Peter or Caspian yelled "Go!" or "Come on!" she would push herself that much harder. Yet no matter how hard they ran, the sounds of the Telmarines were always right at their heels. Angry voices hurled violent threats as what seemed like the whole army came after them.

A new, much faster charging of feet broke through the haze in Penelope's mind and caused her to throw a look behind her at their pursuers. What she saw made her wail in desperation. "Horsemen! We aren't going to make it!"

Peter, hearing her cry, also turned to look. In his moment of turning, he slowed just below the pace Penelope was going, and she crashed into him, falling heavily to the forest floor and landing roughly on her injured arm. She let out a harsh scream of pain and wanted to lay there till the pain had passed, but knowing she hadn't the time to wallow tried to push herself up again. This, however proved too painful, and with another scream she collapsed. As her head hit the ground, she could feel the vibration of the approaching horses hooves through the forest floor, getting ever closer and closing in on the three young Narnians.

"Penny, come on, get up, get up! Please get up!" Peter was hollering frantically, yanking her forcefully up by her other arm. Caspian grabbed her from behind and pulled her up that way, and between the two of them she was back on her feet. Peter took her hand and the two began running, but a sharp cry from behind made Peter slow and look back. Penelope got ahead of him and kept running, dragging him behind her as he let out a ragged gasp. She heard Caspian's screech of "Go! Run, Peter! Don't worry, and don't look back! GO!" and then she gave a tug on his hand, pulling him along with her own shouts of "come on." After a brief moment, Peter turned and started running faster than he had before, pulling ahead of Penelope and again taking the lead. Breathlessly, Penelope followed, not thinking anything of the fact that she didn't again feel Caspian's hand on her back.

Moments later, they broke through the last of the trees and were sprinting through open field, Aslan's How looming in the near distance. They didn't drop their pace as they pushed through the knee length grass, sprinting the last stretch to safety. Penelope's lungs were on fire and her legs felt like lead, but Peter's hand encasing hers kept her going. As they puffed past the archery field, those out training dropped their bows and arrows to their sides and stopped to stare in astonishment as they ran like those possessed until they made it to safety. From her peripheral vision, Penelope saw the archers-Susan included-pause for not a heartbeat before taking off after them.

Peter gradually slowed as their feet met the hard, ancient stone of the long walkway into the How, coming to a stop only after they had cleared the arch of the entryway and stood in the entrance chamber. At that moment he stopped and leaned face first against the wall, leaning his forehead into his arm and panting hard. Penelope, likewise, dropped to the ground and lay down, gasping thirstily for air and closing her eyes.

She heard the many footsteps of the practicing archers filing in after them, and spoke to everyone in the room. "We made it." She chuckled in relieved disbelief, opening her eyes and gazing at her brother where he stood against the wall. Peter offered no reply. "We made it, Pete." she croaked again. This time her laugh was cut short as she saw, what she had thought was a lack of reaction, was actually a stiffening of his back, a tightening of his shoulders, a clenching of his fists. She drew herself up into a sitting position, her frayed nerves suddenly hyper tense. "Peter? What is it?"

At the same moment Peter turned his bleak white face and his red, teary eyes up to her, Susan stepped forward from the crowd of what she know realized were somber looking archers. "Where's Caspian?"

Realization hammered into her with the force of a short distance arrow from the best archer in the land, and in a moment her doe-wide eyes had rolled back into her head and she had lost consciousness.

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**Review please, duckies :)**


	27. Chapter 26 Into the Battle

*Chapter 26- Into the Battle*

**Hey everyone! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, I'm almost up to 100 reviews! :D Hopefully this chapter will tip the scales and get me there, in which case I shall bake each and every one of you cakes and make us all matching t-shirts! :DD**

**By the way, I realize you all got an alert saying I posted chapter 25 and when you went to read it it was actually an older chapter-I'm aware of this. I was messed up on the chapter numbering in the title and needed to change it. My apologies! This, however, is the new chapter :D**

**Anyways, thanks as always to my reviewers, my beta reader Kelsey, and C.S. Lewis for being so damn awesome.**

**Now enjoy.**

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"Where's Caspian?"

The question, thrown as stingingly as a slap in the face, brought Peter to his full height at the same moment it brought out a gasp from Penelope. Peter's eyes snapped over to her as her face drained from its colour, the blue of her eyes vanishing in her ever expanding pupils. At the same moment the full horror of the blow just dealt registered on her face, her eyes rolled back and she thudded to the ground in a dead faint. Peter gave a small, choking cry and rushed over to her, gathering her up protectively into his arms. Exploding from her subconscious was a numb shock, tainted heavily with a sense of overwhelmed exhaustion. He was aware of the frantic voices of the group of archers, who were witnessing the latest drama to befall the Narnian army firsthand, and cast a quick glance up at them, taking a head count. He counted only nine, including Susan, and felt in the midst of this latest shock a momentary sense of relief. Though he would rather none of them had been around to witness the situation before he got it in hand, he was glad it was only a small number as opposed to the whole army.

Peter was aware of Susan at his side, who rather than looking down into the white face of their sister was staring accusingly up at him. "Peter, where is Caspian? And why is Penelope back? You had better start explaining yourself, and fast."

All in a moment, he felt as if he were going to drown in the crushing weight of what his actions had done, and suddenly his sister's nagging presence at his side was all but going to push him over the edge. It then appeared to him that lashing out at her was the only possible thing he could do in his defense. "Why do you automatically assume everything is my fault?" he demanded, glowering back at her.

Susan's expression faltered and her cheeks turned a delicate shade of red as the whisperings of the archers died down; all of them had heard him, and clearly they weren't about to miss the sight of their leader being put in her place by the one person who had authority over her. "Well, we see Caspian and he says he's going to do some archery training; we get to the field and there's no sight of him, and in the meantime no one has even seen head nor tail of you for Aslan knows how long; we're training and all the sudden we hear a big commotion and see you sprinting away from the Telmarine camp with Penelope hot on your heels and no sign of Caspian; you both get back here in a frenzy and Penelope acts as if it's a shock Caspian isn't here-excuse me for assuming you had something to do with the fact that she's now back and Caspian still isn't! Now, tell me what happened Peter!"

"Or what, you'll put me in time out? You aren't Mum, Susan, so quit trying to be her." Peter snarled back, extra defensive and harsh in light of her correct assumptions. He watched as his sister's face, which had been previously scowling in impatient anger, crashed to the floor, and he could tell from the look that took its place that his had been a deep blow. He could tell by the way it showed in her eyes; Susan's eyes had through the course of the last year become steely chasms which didn't so much as hint at what she was feeling.

In a flash the look was masked by one of a very penetrating anger, one that was used as a shield to the real, much more personal emotions. "Why do you think your authority is so much greater than the rest of ours? You aren't the only one here who holds the title of a monarch, why don't you start treating the rest of us like we are, too?" she barked, jumping to her feet and nearly falling over in her rage. As she turned away from the archers behind them, the expression faltered once more to reveal that deeply wounded look, but then she was charging away.

The whole scene left Peter struck by the wonderment of just how deep Susan really did store things inside her, but at the same moment he even remotely began to ponder the year since they had first left Narnia he was aware of a new presence at his side. Slowly turning his head up, he was struck by an entirely new onset of emotions as he found himself looking into Iridescent's strikingly beautiful face, and upon seeing the quiver of arrows on her back realized she must have been out for some archery training..meaning she had just seen that whole scene take place. Peter turned away in shame, feeling that because she was Penelope's Patronus she would for some reason be angry at him for the loss of Caspian.

His fears were affirmed in the stern tone with which she addressed him. "Was all that really necessary?" she asked, and he could feel her scorching lavender eyes burning into the back of his head. Defensive anger, much like that with which he had addressed Susan, bubbled in his chest again, but before he could deliver a stinging reply she cut him off. "And is that how you plan on reacting when the army asks what happens? Because they're going to ask. Susan was right to ask you what happened, Peter, and you know it. Now you can sit here and mope all the livelong day, or you can get off your ass and explain what the bloody hell is going on to the rest of us so we can do something."

By this time, more of the Narnians had gathered around, no doubt because of the ruckus which had been made and because of the incredulously miraculous sight of Penelope, returned a day before planned. Peter took a moment to let his anger die down and to get over his ego, so that he could act on Iridescent's words and take charge of the situation he had ultimately caused. Grasping Penelope's unconscious body in his arms, he clambered to his feet and with set jaw raised his voice to address his army.

"Send word to everyone through the How to meet in the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice. We must prepare for battle."

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The sound of metal clanking loudly many people's voices rising in a tidal wave of furious roaring brought Penelope to. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself looking upon the shadowed ceiling of a low lit cave. She became aware of a warm hand gripping her own at the same time she realized her head was laying in someone's lap, their long fingers brushing through her hair. She looked to see whose hand clasped her own, saw a shimmer of light blue hair; Iridescent. Fleetingly, she wondered how in the world she had gotten back to the How, but her train of thoughts were broken off as the sounds of people shouting grew louder.

Iridescent let out a small gasp as she noticed Penelope's now open eyes, and at once she swooped upon her like a bird of prey. She was quickly and urgently asking if she was alright, and Penelope nodded without really paying attention as she sat up. Her head swam threateningly as black spots danced before her eyes, her vision weaving in and out of focus. It took a moment before the sickening sensations left her body, and she turned to the elf.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Peter's called a meeting of the whole army," Iridescent replied. "They're going over the battle plan."

At the mention of her brother, the memories of the mornings events came flooding back to her. She let out a pain-filled gasp, realizing that Caspian was gone at the same time she figured out why she was where she was.

"I fainted, didn't I? How long have I been out?" she asked, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. Surely people would be able to guess that she had feelings for Caspian after a display so grand as fainting...

"Nothing too terrible, maybe twenty minutes? But you were exhausted, it's good you managed to get some sleep before the madness your brother is planning breaks out."

Penelope automatically felt defensive for her brother, but seeing as she did not know what was going on she refrained from saying anything. Instead, she glanced around the room in search of him. She found that she was in the Chamber of Aslan's Sacrifice, and Narnians were packed in all corners of the room, heaving as one giant swell as they all tried to move at once. She noticed that the majority of them wore their battle armor and had their weapons slung across their backs, their faces creased with grim determination.

"Where is everyone?" Penelope asked, seeing no sign of Peter or her other siblings.

"All rammed up each other's asses, trying to make sure they know what the hell they're supposed to be doing right now," Iridescent replied bitterly. Penelope shot her a stern glance at her use of language, but saw that the elf was rapidly pinching the tips of her ears; a habit Penelope had over the years come to recognize as one of severe anxiety. Instead of rebutting her, she shrugged it off, knowing that Iridescent tended to curse like a sailor when she was upset. She felt her own calm aura shatter at the sight of her guardian's loss of composure.

"Well I can see that much," she replied, opting to keep the tone light. "I meant where are my siblings?"

Iridescent shrugged, still plucking at her pointed ears. "Off shoved up someone else's ass. Peter's probably trying to rally the troops, Susan's probably with the archers, Edmund's probably off being Edmund, and Aslan knows where Lucy is."

Penelope's blood turned to ice and her heart dropped heavily into her stomach. She had very nearly forgot about her youngest sister during the course of her captivity. "What do you think has happened to her?"

Iridescent looked surprisingly unconcerned. "I'm sure she's fine. She probably found somewhere to stay during the course of these past few days."

Anger sparked in Penelope at how unworried Iridescent was, and perhaps for the first time in her life she found she challenged what she was saying. "How could she possibly be fine? She's a little girl, she has no way of taking care of herself. How are you not remotely worried about her?"

Iridescent arched a delicate eyebrow. "How were you able to survive for a thousand years when you were only a baby? I believe Aslan is looking out for her. Besides, I'm sure we would have heard all about it if the Telmarines had killed her. You just have to trust Aslan."

Penelope felt abashed, realizing that Iridescent was probably right. "Sorry, I'm just.. stressed. This is all a lot to take in all the sudden."

"S'okay. Just don't turn in to an overprotective prat like your brother. Lucy is stronger than she looks, she can take care of herself. You all need to start realizing that and respect her more."

Penelope's eyes clouded over as the truth of Iridescent's words settled in her mind. Lucy had grown up once before, and had ruled a country when she was still but a child. She was, in many ways, more adept at taking care of herself than Penelope herself. Though still the youngest, she was in no way the baby of the family anymore. Penelope made a mental note to check herself on her treatment of Lucy, but in the meantime focused on Iridescent, who was still pinching her ears. The pointed tips were now a violent shade of red.

"Iridescent, if you pinch them much harder than they'll be permanently rolled in," she exclaimed, swatting at Iridescent's eager fingers.

Iridescent smacked Penelope back, but before the fight could escalate Peter appeared before them. "Penny, you're awake!"

Penelope shot Iridescent one last dirty look, and as she turned to converse with her twin, the elf scampered off into the crowd. "Yeah.. Look, about me fainting-"

Peter cut her off. "It's alright, you'd had an eventful day. I'm just glad that you're back and alright."

He smiled at her, and she found she was smiling back. Warmth radiated between the twins, and for a few moments they simply stood enjoying each other's company. After a moment, Peter spoke again.

"Now the only problem is-"

"Caspian?" Penelope finished for him.

"And the entire Telmarine army." Peter nodded, his face mirroring her own grim expression. The two twins stared at each other for a moment, silently communicating their feelings of understanding: This was it. This was what their weeks of preparation was going to come down to. The Narnians could no longer hide and hope that they could build their skill and numbers, praying to an unresponsive Aslan that the Telmarines would just hold off a few days more. Their prince had been captured, and the Telmarines were at their front door. Finally, those who died during the night raid were going to be avenged. "We're going to go with the original battle plan, but since Caspian isn't here we had to change a few things around."

Penelope's heart gave a small twinge at the mention of Caspian's absence, but Peter carried on relentlessly. "Edmund is going to lead the troops under ground in Caspian's place, but after he leads the troops out of the ground he'd going to join the flyers and go on gryphon to try and find Caspian. I'll still be at the head of the army above ground, and Susan's still going to be leading the archers. Iridescent's still going to be doing her own thing, keeping watch for Lucy. I want to put you up with Susan, with the archers."

"Will I get to come down and fight with everyone else?" Penelope demanded immediately, seeing right away why Peter had her put up there.

Peter hesitated, his blue eyes clouded. "I would prefer you not to.. It'll be better to have you up above where you can pick people off easily, with Susan. Besides, you're tired from the Telmarine camp, your fighting skills may not be quite up to par, and Miraz may be trying to send men after you, and anyways-"

"Alright, alright, I get it. I'll stay on the ledge." said Penelope, her intentions really only to shut Peter up. He looked immensely relieved, and gave her a weary smile.

"Thanks, Penny," he said, rubbing her on the shoulder. "Now if only I could get Edmund to agree quite so easily.."

"You worry too much," Penelope said in complete seriousness despite her small smile. "About all of us. We can all take care of ourselves, it's not always up to you, you know."

Peter looked at her contemplatively for a moment, then merely shrugged it off. "I can't help it. Obsessive older brother syndrome, is what Edmund calls it. You'd understand if you were the oldest of four..now five."

"Understandable, I suppose. I can barely take care of myself-it took seven Narnians total to raise me-much less my siblings. But still, I'm the oldest of four siblings, and you don't see me constantly bearing down on them and their business.. maybe try to trust them just a little?"

Peter gave her a cold glare, and she knew that she had crossed a line. "This isn't a matter of trust, Penelope. It's life or death here, and I'm not about to just let you all do whatever it is you want during the middle of a war and have you wind up dead just to prove that I trust you. Now please, may we drop the subject?"

Slightly peeved, but knowing that to try and press the matter would not end well, Penelope huffed and let the topic drop. A cold silence passed between the two, and the instant Penelope was not talking, her mind was filled with Caspian. Dread settled like a boulder in her stomach as she recalled his handsome face, his soothing voice, and the danger he was surely facing at the moment.

"Peter, what are we going to do about Caspian?" she asked, her voice barely rising above a whisper. She felt her cheeks redden as her brother turned to look at her full on, his expression sour and calculating.

Before Peter could answer, Edmund approached the two, followed closely by Susan and Iridescent. "The Telmarines are leaving the woods, and it looks like they're bringing the whole army."

Peter nodded, quickly slipping into his High King form. "Edmund, gather the troops who will go underground and prepare to ride. Susan, get the archers together and get out on the ledge. Iridescent, take Penelope and get her changed into her other armor."

"Why can't I just wear this?" Penelope asked, flabbergasted Peter was thinking about things such as fashion at a time like this.

"Because people will think you're me and try and attack you, now go quickly!"

He ran off to bark orders at the other troops as he spoke, thus missing the eye roll exchanged between Iridescent and Penelope. The two charged off for Penelope's quarters, where she hastily changed in to her dress from the night raid. Iridescent was uncharacteristically silent the whole time, but Penelope barely noticed past the anger at not knowing a definite plan on Caspian's rescue that coursed through her. It occurred to her, as she slung a fresh quiver of arrows over her back and ran to join Susan at the ledge, that she would need to improvise a plan for herself.

With that fact sitting firmly in a corner of her mind, she took her place beside Susan at the head of the archers. Penelope's gaze swept the field, which was now completely altered in light of the impending battle. In front of the How, she could see hundreds of Narnians standing grouped together, their armor and weapons flashing in the sun. Further ahead in the stone arena stood Peter, with Edmund next to him on horseback. Hanging a little ways back from the pair stood Glenstorm, his flanks covered in armor and his huge sword slung across his back. Though the Narnians that stood behind the three were a formidable group, they represented only about half of the army; the rest were below ground, waiting for the signal that the Telmarines were charging.

Looking across the field, Penelope felt her heart give a nervous little tremor. Standing a fair distance away from the Narnians was a sea of glimmering armor, thousands of faceless soldiers waiting for the signal from their leader. At the head of the army was the cavalry, which looked to be about the same size as the Narnian army waiting above ground. Behind them stood an even greater force of foot soldiers, who appeared to be about three times as numerous as the entire Narnian army. Set at intervals among the foot soldiers were huge catapults and other war machines of Telmarine design.

Penelope and Susan exchanged a grim look, both feeling the same sense of dread and hopelessness. The look in Susan's eyes said that the younger of the Pevensie sisters' confidence in a Narnian victory was slowly waning. Seeing the look in a much more experienced warrior's eyes only served to crush Penelope's own confidence, but she decided that it would be better if she kept optimistic.

The two sisters looked away from each other in time to see the Telmarines dividing into two sections, clearing a pathway down the middle. From the back of this pathway rode three horsed figures, and from the extravagance of their armor and the cockiness of their manners, Penelope guessed they were Miraz, Glozelle, and Sopespian. As the three leaders took their places at the head of their army, a twinge of panic filled her; there was no sign of Caspian.

There was a moment when the two armies stared across the field at each other, each sizing the other up. Silence seemed to grip all of Narnia as both sides waited for the other to make the first move, but for the Narnians, the wait would be indefinite: their plan could only take place if the Telmarines charged first. After a few more moments, a nod was exchanged between the leaders, and all around them Telmarine banners were raised high. Every Narnian in the army held their breath as a horn was blown, and the Telmarine cavalry charged; this was it.

From where he stood at the front of the stone arena, Edmund yanked his horses bridle, turning hard and charging for the How. At the same moment he and Glenstorm cleared the entryway, Susan gave her first order to the troops, feeling once again like the empowered queen she had been during the Golden Age.

"Archers, to the ready!" she barked, grabbing her bow and stringing an arrow. Penelope followed suit, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched the Telmarine army ride closer, unexpectedly approaching the waiting trap. But while she was focusing on the charging cavalry, she was paying no attention to the army behind them, where the catapults were being loaded and launched. She was only aware that they were being used as the first boulder slammed into the earth below them, shaking the archers where they stood. Penelope and the others were shaken at the unexpected force of the blow, but she managed to remain standing. She glanced down to see a few Narnians scrambling away from a dusty crater in the ground where it had hit, while a few less lucky men lay crushed. Rage filled Penelope at the first loss of Narnian lives.

From deep below the ground came the faintest sound of a horn being blown; the first signal. Up where he stood at the front of the stone arena, Peter whipped his sword out, waiting. Even from where she stood on the ledge, Penelope could sense the cool determination coursing through him as he faced the oncoming army.

"Take your aim!" Susan's shout came from Penelope's side, and the air was filled with the straining of bows they were pulled taught. Penelope lifted her own bow high into the air, her arrow parallel with her sister's as she took aim for a Telmarine riding in the front of the group.

"Stay with 'em!" Trumpkin barked, as another projectile launched from the Telmarines shook the archers where they stood.

A few moments passed, and the Telmarine army were nearly upon the stone arena where Peter stood. The blond king's form shook with the power of his shout as he issued his command. "Get ready!"

Though to the Telmarines nothing had happened, the Narnians could all tell their plan was a success. Just feet before the oncoming cavalry, a huge oval had formed in the ground from where part of it was caving in; known to the Narnians because they had been told what to look for. In an instant, the oblivious Telmarines were upon the weakened ground, which began crumbling under the first row of men. These first men realized what was happening at the same moment the rest of their comrades charged onto the pit, and before any of them could react, the ground caved in. The Telmarines' horses collapsed from beneath them, and with startled yelps nearly the entire cavalry went in to the pit. Before they could realize what had happened or regroup themselves, Susan's strong voice rang through the air.

"Now!"

Penelope, Susan, and the rest of the archers released their arrows. The archers watched in mesmerized silence as their arrows soared like a flock of birds through the air, arcing gracefully down and hammering into the Telmarines below. At the same moment Peter raised his sword and lead the army out to meet the surviving Telmarines, two small holes appeared in the ground by the pit. A swarm of Narnians, lead by Edmund and Glenstorm, charged out from below the ground, mixing together with Peter's troops and closing in on the floundering Telmarines.

Arrows flew, swords clashed, and men fell as the Narnians crushed the remaining Telmarine cavalry. A renewed vigor filled the Narnians as they finally took a stand against the Telmarines, and were seemingly gaining the upper hand. It was with the smallest sense of oncoming victory that Penelope notched her arrows, letting them fly into the fray below. But at the same moment Penelope fired another arrow, a boulder launched from the Telmarine catapult hit much closer to the How than any of the others, shaking the archers and nearly knocking a dwarf off the ledge. Penelope barely managed to catch herself, while Susan gave a small cry as she toppled over, landing hard on her backside.

"Those catapults are proving to be a serious problem," she grumbled as Penelope and Trumpkin pulled her to her feet. Penelope glanced across the field to where the catapults stood, tall and imposing as they launched yet another volley of boulders. But while they definitely proved a threat, there was something else that caught her eye that would prove to be far more detrimental to the Narnians.

The foot soldiers of the Telmarine army were slowly surging forward, making their way to where the Narnian army stood struggling with the remaining cavalry. Thousands of them surged forward, while the Narnians remained oblivious. In the middle of the fray stood Edmund, swinging two swords at a group of Telmarines who had him surrounded. Penelope felt another surge of panic, for Edmund was supposed to have led the gryphon troop to find Caspian by that point. Her eyes turned to sweep the Telmarine army once again, and she found that only one of the three leaders remained back with the army. Angered at Miraz's cowardice, Penelope continued to comb through the army, until with a jolt, her gaze froze on a most peculiar sight.

Beside one of the catapults, there was a troop of five soldiers, standing in a defensive semicircle with crossbows in their hands. But it wasn't the soldiers that interested Penelope; it was what stood trapped behind them. A sixth Telmarine stood in the middle of the soldiers, wearing armor but apparently unarmed. His hands were bound to the catapult, and his form was rocked with each volley of boulders it launched. But even from here, Penelope could see the raw fury etched across his handsome face, battered and bruised though it currently was.

Caspian.

Penelope let out a tiny gasp as she took in the bruises on his face. Anger boiled in her stomach and threatened to consume her, but she knew that should she fully unleash her rage, she would lose control and possibly fail her plan. And so she reigned in her fury, unwillingly bottling it up in a disguise of indifference as she slowly began to creep to the back of the ledge. She waited for the moment when both Susan and Trumpkin had their bows raised to fire, and in that instant she darted into the How, sprinting down the tunnel at full speed. When she arrived to the entrance chamber, however, she veered to the right, running for the tunnel Susan and Lucy had rode out of when trying to find Aslan. A small flitting of fear went through her mind as she thought of Lucy, who had still not been heard from, but she pushed those thoughts out of the way as she continued into the forest.

Ducking low to remain hidden by the underbrush, Penelope sprinted along the edge of the forest, keeping the ongoing battle in her line of sight the whole while. She held tightly to her bow as she made her way through the forest, drawing closer to Caspian with each step she took.

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**Review if you're out there, please! I want my hundred reviews, dangit! xD **

**Oh yeah! There's a reference pic of what I imagined Iridescent looking like on my profile. Check it out!**


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